Life, Love, and SG1 Year 2
by Jennifer Carter
Summary: Nothing new. Just editing and changing some things.
1. Reunion

_Disclaimer: They're not mine. The only ones who are mine are Jessie, Landon, Connor, and Caleb. I just like to play with the others._

_My POV_

It was the day before my first day of school and I was scared. I didn't know anyone except Cassie. When they tested me, they decided to put me up a couple of grades. So, instead of being in fifth grade, I was put in eighth. My first day in a school and it's junior high. Sheesh. So, here I was the day before and a total wreck. I wanted it to be perfect. I know…I know…unrealistic. I couldn't help it. I guess what really sucked was my first day of school was also a Friday and we'd just gotten back from the Tok'ra base, visiting with Grandpa. I really hadn't been feeling all that well since we left. I had a bad feeling things were about to change.

"Hey mom?" I called out. I knew she was in her and dad's room.

"Yeah?"

"Where's my notebook?"

"Be specific, honey," said mom coming in my room.

"The blue one," I said, digging through my backpack. I had different colored notebooks, one for each class. I _knew_ I'd put it in my backpack earlier that day.

"Here," she said. I could hear the humor in her voice. I turned around and she handed me my blue notebook. Apparently, I hadn't put it where I thought I had.

"Thanks," I mumbled sheepishly.

"Jessie…calm down," she said, pushing my hair behind my ears before putting her hands on my shoulders. "You don't have to be so nervous."

"I know…I'm not nervous." I said, my voice breaking.

I sat down heavily on the bed with a sigh, just as dad walked in. "Hey Sunshine…what's wrong?" he asked.

"She's nervous," said mom.

"I'm _not _nervous," I said, my voice breaking, tears filling my eyes. I leaned forward and held my head in my hands.

"Then what's wrong?" she asked, sitting down beside me. Dad sat down on the other side.

"Talk to us, honey," said dad, putting his arm around my shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"I'm scared," I whispered, angrily wiping the tears from my eyes. "Actually, it's more like terrified," I said as I sat back and laid my head on his shoulder. I was trembling and I couldn't stop.

"Of what, sweetheart?" asked mom.

"Everything. I haven't been to school since I was five," I said. "Everything I learned, I taught myself…or I've learned in the last year," I added softly. "What if nobody likes me?"

"Honey, you'll do fine," said dad, stroking the back of my head. "Everybody's gonna love you. We do."

"I just wish I knew somebody there."

"You _do _know somebody. Cassie's gonna be there," said mom.

"Yeah, but she's in ninth. I'm in eighth. She doesn't want to hang out with an eighth grader," I said.

"Who says?" came a voice from the hallway.

"Cassie?"

"Yeah. Jessie, listen to me," she said coming into the room. "I'm gonna be there the whole time. I'm not gonna let anyone pick on you or hurt you in any way."

"I'm scared Cassie." I couldn't keep my voice from trembling.

"I know. So was I my first day at school. At least you're human," she said.

"Genetically enhanced," I murmured, wiping at my eyes again. I still had trouble believing that all these people cared about me…loved me even.

Dad softly swiped the back of my head. "Behave," he said.

"Well, it's true. I _am _genetically enhanced," I said.

"True," said mom. "But, genetically enhanced or not, you're still my baby."

I blushed. "I'm not a baby anymore," I said softly.

"You'll _always_ be my baby," she said, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me tight.

"And mine," said dad, pulling me from mom and wrapping his arms around me in a strong hug.

I knew I must've been blushing bright red by this time. Cassie realized that and smiled. "Guys, you're embarrassing her," she said, laughing.

Laughing, they both kissed me on the side of the head and backed off. "You ok now, Sunshine?" asked dad, rubbing the back of my head.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm still scared, but I guess I'll be ok."

"You'll be fine. The school has our pager numbers, cell phone numbers, and the phone number to the SGC…direct line to General Hammond," said mom.

"I thought that number was classified," I said.

"Yeah, but you're a special kid. General Hammond insisted that he be put down as one of the contacts. As did someone else," said dad.

"Who?" I asked.

"The President," said dad.

"Sweet," I said.

We laughed at the expression on mom's face. "You are _so _much like your dad."

"I know," I said. "Try not to hold it against me." I jumped from the bed and tried to run.

"That's enough outta you," said dad, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me back to the bed and tickling me mercilessly.

"MOM! Help me!" I squealed, trying to get away from dad.

"Nope," said mom laughing at me and dad. "You set him off. You have to deal with the wrath of Jack O'Neill."

Dad kept tickling me until I ran out of breath, then he let me up. "Now, what was that remark, Miss O'Neill?"

"I said I was proud to be like my dad," I said, still trying to get my breath.

"That's what I thought," he said, pulling me up from the bed. "Now…how about I treat you three ladies to dinner?"

"_Pizza Hut_?" I asked.

"Yeah sure ya betcha," he said.

We all piled into the truck and went to dinner. I was still nervous, but it was getting better. After dinner, I let the conversation lull me to sleep, leaning against mom.

_Jack's POV_

By the time the meal was over, Jessie was sound asleep, leaning against Sam. To me, it was the perfect picture. My daughter and my wife. We'd finally been given permission to marry and General Hammond had performed the ceremony. We'd only been married a couple of weeks. There was no longer a Major Samantha Carter at the SGC. Instead, there was Major Samantha O'Neill. I loved her so much…I loved them both more than I ever thought possible.

"Come on guys. Cassie, I'll drop you off at home and then we're gonna put Jessie to bed," I said.

I paid for our dinner and picked Jessie up. That girl slept like a log. After dropping Cassie off at Janet's, we went home and put Jessie to bed. Sam got her dressed and I tucked her in. I couldn't believe that she was actually going to school. We'd had a long talk regarding what school she would go to…if it was going to be a private school or public…the Air Force said they would pay for a private school because of her abilities, if that's what we wanted.

We talked to her and we decided a semi-private school would be better…more like an academy. It was the same one that Cassie was going to. When she asked why she had to go to school anyway, we told her that she needed to be around other kids her age. She kept telling us that she was fine where she was at...being tutored by all of us. But, she needed to come out of her shell…somehow. I could only pray that she would be ok. She was strong…she _is _strong. Stronger than me or her mom. She'd been through so much, I just wanted her to be ok.

We sat there for a long time, watching her sleeping peacefully. She hadn't had a nightmare in months, so we hoped she was getting over the past. I loved that kid so damned much. After Charlie, I never thought I'd love another child that much. But, Jessie…in some ways, I loved Jessie more than I've ever loved anyone…except Sam. I absolutely refused imagine my life without either one of them. I know one thing's for sure, if I were to ever lose them, I would die. I wouldn't sit there, holding the gun like I did the night they came to get me for the first trip to Abydos. No. I would take the gun and pull the trigger. I wouldn't think about it. I would just do it.

_Sam's POV_

Jessie was awake before we were. That in itself was not unusual. She was always up before we were – running, riding her bike, just all in all exercising. I got up and fixed her breakfast while she was in the shower. I knew she wouldn't really be all that hungry because of the nervousness.

She came downstairs wearing the academy's standard uniform…plaid skirt, white shirt, knee-high stockings, black loafers, and a plaid jacket with an embroidered crest that said "Stevenson's Academy" on the left side. She looked so small and frightened, I just wanted to take her in my arms and keep her home forever. But, I knew that wouldn't bring her out of her shell. Hopefully, having Cassie nearby would help.

"Mornin' honey," I said, kissing the side of her head as she sat down at the table.

"Mornin'."

"You hungry?"

"Not really," she said quietly. She was looking really, really pale.

"Honey, you ok?" I asked sitting beside her.

"Yeah," she said softly, staring at the table.

"Mornin' Sunshine," said Jack, walking up behind us and wrapping his arms around her neck. He kissed her on the cheek and then kissed me on the lips. "Mornin' Sam."

"Mornin'," mumbled Jessie.

"Mornin'," I said, returning his kiss.

He noticed Jessie's paleness. "You ok, Sunshine?" he asked rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah," she said softly again, still staring at the table.

"Jessie, everything's gonna be fine…I promise," said Jack, sitting down across from her.

"But, what if…"

"Ah!" interrupted Jack. "No buts…no what if's. Everything is going to be fine. Janet is going to drop Cassie off here and then we're going to take you both to school. We've got a meeting with all of your teachers this morning. That way, they know that every once in a while, you will be missing school."

"Why?" she asked distractedly.

"Well, you're a part of SG-1 now," he said. "You'll be going with us on certain missions…not all, but some."

"Really?" she asked, finally sounding herself…excited and happy. "What are you gonna tell them?"

"Yes…really," I said, stroking the back of her head softly. "We've got a sealed letter from General Hammond. I'm not sure what's in it, but he thinks it will convince them to let you go at least a couple times a month."

Jack stood and got a bowl for her cereal. I grabbed the orange juice for her. He poured the cereal and milk as I handed her the carafe. She poured her a glass and stared at it for a moment. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"Whatcha thinkin' about honey?" I asked.

"Not much. Trying _not _to think," she said, taking a bite of her cereal.

"You know you can tell us anything, right?" asked Jack.

"I know. I guess I'm still a little scared," she said softly.

"You'll be fine," said a voice from the backdoor.

"Hi Janet, come on in," I said, looking up.

She and Cassie walked in and sat down at the table. "Jessie, you don't have to be nervous. I'm gonna be there. From the classes you signed up for, you're gonna be in some of them with me," said Cassie.

"Really?" She perked up at this.

"Yeah. You're gonna be in my physics, calculus, and phys ed…oh…and history," she said, grabbing a piece of toast off the table.

"Sweet," said Jessie.

That got a laugh from all of us. My fun-loving daughter was back in control. We finished breakfast and Janet left for the mountain. We got Jessie's notebooks, pens, pencils, etc and got ready to go.

We were halfway there when Jessie realized she'd actually left her backpack at home. "Orb it," said Jack.

"Why didn't I think of that?" she asked before muttering, "backpack." It appeared and she checked to make sure everything was secure.

"Because you're brain is on overload?" asked Cassie with a grin, reaching over to tickle her.

We all laughed, but Jessie squirmed away from Cassie and shut her eyes. "Honey, you're thinking too much," I said.

"Boy does _that _ever sound familiar," said Jack.

I laughed at him. "How many times have you told me that?"

"I'm not sure I can count that high," said Jack.

I looked back at Jessie. At least she was smiling. I held my hand out to her and she put her smaller hand in mine. I squeezed her hand comfortingly. "Honey, we're only a _thought _away. Just reach out for us and we'll be there," I said returning her smile.

"Ok," she said softly.

_My POV_

When we got to the school, I realized it was smaller than I thought. I was glad. I'm not big on crowded places. People were staring. I'd hoped it was because mom and dad were in their BDU's.

I'd already been given my locker number and combination so we put my stuff in there first. Then we went to the Headmaster's office to wait for him

Cassie had gotten permission to stay outside the office while waiting on me. I was sitting between mom and dad in the office.

"Sorry, I'm late. There was a fight in the hall and I had to break it up," said Headmaster Wallace.

"That's ok," said dad. "It's understandable."

"Ok," he said, sitting behind his desk. "Jessica O'Neill. But, you go by Jessie…is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," I said softly, sitting up straighter.

"Manners…I like that in my students. Too bad they don't show up too often."

I grinned at mom and dad. This was going to be an interesting day.

"Ok, here is your schedule," he said handing me a piece of paper. "You have twenty minutes for homeroom. During this time, you will be able to complete unfinished homework, work on essay's, or read. According to this your first period class is calculus; second period is history; third period is physics – then lunch. Fourth period is physical education; Fifth period is English literature; Sixth period is Computer Science." He stopped. "I must have switched your schedule with another student's," he said, sounding a little confused.

"Why?" asked dad.

"According to her file, she is only twelve years of age."

"Yes, sir. I am twelve" I said. "But, those are the classes that I chose."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are these not too advanced for one your age?"

"Mr. Wallace, my mom is an astrophysicist and a Major in the US Air Force. My dad is a Colonel in the US Air Force with two degrees in something he won't tell us about." I glared at dad about that one. He just grinned. "I've been home-schooled for the last year. I know you've seen my entire file. You know what's happened to me. If you look at the rest of the paperwork, you'll find that I took all of the entrance exams for those classes and passed them with no problems."

He flipped through the paperwork and we watched his eyes widen in surprise. "According to this, you tested at college level in each of those classes."

I blushed and tried to make myself small. "Yes, sir," I was able to squeak out.

"Do not be ashamed of your intelligence, Jessie. We need students like you."

"What do you mean, 'students like her'?" asked dad.

"Students who are intelligent enough to do the work and who are not afraid to show it. Students who are willing to lend a hand to those who are struggling with their work. From what I've seen, you will be an exceptional addition to the Academy."

"Thank you," I said softly.

"Now, are you ready to meet your teachers?"

"Yes, sir."

We stood and he took us into another room full of teachers. I started to panic. I couldn't breathe. I don't like crowds. Dad rubbing my back and mom holding my hand were the only things that kept me from bolting out the door and orbing home.

_(Easy Sunshine) _– dad

_(I wanna go home) _I wasn't crying…yet, but I knew they could hear the tears in my thoughts.

_(I know baby. But, just give it a chance) _– dad

_(I wanna go home!)_

_(Breathe Jessie) _– mom

"Miss. O'Neill." The Headmaster's voice broke into my thoughts.

"Sir?"

"These are your professors." As he said their names, they each stood. "Professor Thompson – Physics; Professor Connors – Calculus; Professor Jessup – Computer Science; Professor Novotny – History; Professor Taylor – English literature; and Coach Kinney – Physical Education." He nodded towards me. "Professors…Jessie O'Neill."

"Welcome to Stevenson's Academy, Jessie," said Professor Taylor.

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, still wanting to go home.

"These are Jessie's parents," the Headmaster said. "Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha O'Neill."

"Army?" asked Professor Novotny.

"No, sir. Air Force," said dad. "We're stationed at Cheyenne Mountain."

"We were told that Jessie would be missing a few days a month in regards to something she has to do at the base?" said Professor Novotny, making it sound like a question.

"Yes sir. Jessie is an integral part of some research I am doing inside the mountain," said mom.

"What kind of research?"

"It's classified," said dad. They only nodded. Everyone knew _something _went on at the mountain. But, nobody knew what.

"Are you ready, Miss O'Neill?" asked Professor Jessup.

"Yes, sir," I said. "Can I have a moment with my parents?" I knew I was pleading. Really didn't care.

"Yes," said the Headmaster, ushering every one out of the room.

I probed their conversations outside the door. I wanted to know what they thought about me.

_A little shy isn't she? She spoke so softly._

_Yes, I noticed that too. She wouldn't let go of her mother's hand and I thought I would strain myself trying to hear her._

_She's a little frightened. She has not been away from her parents since they found her._

_What do you mean 'found' her?_

_According to her file, she was kidnapped when she was a baby. She was only returned to her parents a little over a year ago. She had been severely abused by the people that were sworn to protect her. It is only natural for her to not want to leave the safe haven of her parents._

_Oh dear Lord! That poor child._

_Yes. The man who abused her is dead and his wife is in prison for allowing it to happen. On a brighter note, did any of you have time to review her test scores?_

_Yes. That kid is brilliant! I can't wait to get her in my class. Finally, a student with some brains._

"You gonna be ok, Sunshine?"

"Yeah…I think so," I said softly, squeezing their hands. They'd _heard_ the conversation also.

"Yeah. I think the teachers here are going to be keeping an eye out for you," said mom.

"I guess…they seemed nice," I said.

"You ready to do this, Sunshine?" asked dad, hugging me from behind.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said.

"Just remember baby," said mom. "Just a thought away." She reached out and stroked my cheek softly.

"I know," I said, fighting back the tears. I was scared to be left alone with a bunch of people I didn't know. But, there was something tingling in the back of my mind. Someone was there that I knew…very well. But, I didn't know who.

"I love you, Sunshine," said dad. He turned me around and hugged me tight. He was fighting to control his own emotions.

"I love you, honey," said mom.

"I love you too, guys," I said, hugging them back. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Mom and dad gave me kisses on the cheek and then we walked out into the hallway. Cassie was talking to my professors and the Headmaster.

"You ok, Jessie?" asked Cassie.

"Yeah," I said softly. "I will be."

Students were coming into the school now. Up until then, it'd just been a few of them and me. Now, they were coming into school full-force. I was having trouble breathing because a lot of them were staring at me…or maybe they were staring at mom and dad. Dad put his arms around me from behind and hugged me, helping me to breathe.

Three boys walked past and stared at me. They looked familiar. The older one had jet-black hair and midnight-blue eyes. The other two had blonde hair and green eyes…twins. They actually did a double-take before they turned around and stopped in front of us. Dad started to move me behind him.

"Jessie?" asked the black-haired one.

I stared at him. I knew him. "Landon?"

"It _is _you!" he said, pulling me from dad and into a big hug.

"I never thought I'd see you again," I said, hugging him back equally hard.

"Hey! Don't forget about us!" said one of the twins…Connor and Caleb.

The four of us stood there in the hallway outside the Headmaster's office hugging each other. I was the only one crying, but I could tell they were close to tears themselves.

"Jessie? Honey?" came from both mom and dad,

I backed up, but didn't let go of Landon's hand. "Mom, dad, this is Landon, Connor, and Caleb. They were in the orphanage with me…and in the first home," I said softly.

"You tried to protect my daughter? Even back then?" he asked Landon.

"Yes, sir," said Landon with a ghost of a smile.

The three boys looked at me. "I found my _biological _parents," I said softly, finally letting go of Landon's hand and hugging mom and dad.

"Wow!" said Landon, as dad kissed the top of my head.

"What about you guys?"

"We were adopted by a couple of families," said Caleb.

"Cool. So…what's your last name now?"

"Mine's Savage," said Landon. "Those two are Simpson's." He got a chuckle from dad. "What classes are you in?" he asked.

I handed him my schedule and he looked it over. "Sheesh girl! These are some advanced classes!" He reached out and touched my face. Surprising mom and dad, I didn't flinch away. "But, you were always the smart one in the group."

"Still is," said Cassie with a grin.

There was that damn blushing thing again. Mom and dad laughed. "Sheesh. They pick on you like we do," said dad.

"I know…I know," I groaned.

"Miss O'Neill," said the Headmaster.

"Sir?"

"Mr. Savage is in some of your classes. In fact, he is in all of these classes." It reminded me that Landon was also very advanced for his age.

"Yes, sir."

Dad checked his watch. "Sunshine, we have to get to the mountain. You know what to do if you need us right?"

"Yeah, dad. I know," I said softly.

He put his arms around me and hugged me tightly to him. "We'll be back at 1500 to get you," he said.

"Ok," I said, hugging him and then mom.

Landon reached out and took my hand when they released me. "I'll look after her, sir," he said. "I promise."

"You do that," said dad.

_(I want the full story on these three when you get home…especially this guy Landon) _– mom

_(I will)_

"Love you Sunshine."

"Love you, too, guys."

"Now, git!" said mom, stroking the back of my head one more time.

I knew they were watching me as Landon led me away. I wanted to turn and run back to them, and beg them to take me home. Cassie was talking animatedly with Connor and Caleb. We parted at homeroom, but Landon stopped me before we went in.

He pulled me into another hug. "God, I've missed you," he said, kissing the top of my head. He still had a slight British accent. But, as far as he could remember, he was from Colorado.

The only male people I've allowed to touch me since the first night I found mom and dad, were dad, Uncle Daniel, Teal'c, Grandpa Jacob and Grandpa George.

But, Landon was different…as were Connor and Caleb. Connor and Caleb were like my brothers. But, Landon…well, let's just say that I gave my heart to Landon when I was five. He gave me his heart also. He'd tried his best to protect me, although many times he couldn't. We belonged together. We would be together when we were older.

"I've missed you too," I said.

He kissed the top of my head again and we walked into the classroom together. The homeroom teacher saw me walk in and Landon introduced us.

"Professor Anderson, this is Jessie O'Neill. Jessie, this is Professor Anderson."

"I've heard a lot about you Jessie," said the professor. "I am looking forward to working with you this semester."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Now, both of you take a seat so we can get started," she said with a smile. She saw the protective way that Landon was hovering and I think that's what she was smiling about.

"Come to attention class," she said. You could've heard a pin drop in that room. "We have a new student. Jessie, would you tell us a little about yourself…your full name, age, your hobbies, what your parents do…information like that."

I looked at Landon with wide eyes. I wasn't aware of having to tell anything about myself. When he nodded, I smiled at him and slowly stood. "My full name is Jessica O'Neill. I'm twelve years old and I go by Jessie." A lot of the students gasped at my age. I smiled again and continued. "My parents are both officers in the Air Force. I like to draw, write stories, play guitar, skate, and run…and that's about it."

I sat down quickly. Landon reached over and squeezed my hand. "Stay away from him," said someone behind me. "He's mine."

I turned around and looked at the girl behind me. She was eyeing Landon with something in her eyes. Then she looked at me with hate in her eyes. Great. My first day of school and I'd made an enemy. Oh well. She couldn't be any worse than the Goa'uld.

"Leave her alone, Kate," said Landon. I could tell he was aggravated with this girl. "She knows me better than anyone else." He smiled at me. "Besides, she's my …" he trailed off.

"Your what?"

"My girlfriend," he grinned at me. I returned his smile, although shyly. I hadn't seen him in a long time and he still fel the same way.

"What?" she hissed. "You just met her!"

"Just what it sounds like," he said to her. "She's mine and I'm hers…from the moment we were born. And I've known her since she was five."

I laughed softly. He didn't know that he was actually more than ten years older than me. Technically, I hadn't even been born yet!

"What about us?" demanded Kate.

"There never was an _us_," said Landon. "I told you the first time. I was meant for only one person…and _that _person is finally here." He smiled at me.

"Thanks Landon," I said softly.

"For what?"

"For everything," I said as he squeezed my hand again.

The rest of the day passed without incident. I was happy. I took my first physics test. The professor actually wanted me to wait, but I told him I was ready.

"Miss O'Neill, you will be exempt from this test," said Professor Thompson as soon as Landon and I walked in the door.

"I'd really like to take this test, sir," I said.

"But, you have not had a chance to review the material," he argued.

"Sir, my mom's an astrophysicist. She's taught me a lot. I'd really like to take that test," I said.

He looked at me for a moment. "Sir?" said Landon.

"Yes, Mr. Savage?"

"I think she's ready for it. She's very…very smart," he said squeezing my hand. He hadn't let go of me all day. It was comforting, in a strange way. In a way, he was the only thing that was keeping me from orbing home.

"Alright, Miss O'Neill," he said. "But, I will only allow this _once_. However, I will _not_ grade this test for you."

"But…"I started to argue. I stopped when I saw the look on Landon's face. "Yes sir," I said.

We took our seats beside each other.

"Class, come to order. Mr. McDonald, please come forward and hand out the exam booklets."

A red-haired boy walked to the front of the class and began to pass out the tests.

"Do _not_ open your booklets until you are told to do so. Once you have completed your exam, please open to page 253 in your textbook and read chapter fifteen."

Once all the tests were passed out, we sat there waiting for the teacher to tell us we could start.

"You have one hour to complete the exam. Begin," he said leaving the room.

I opened the book and tried to keep the grin off my face. I knew this stuff…I actually knew this stuff. This was stuff that mom dealt with everyday. Thirty minutes later, I was sitting there reading chapter fifteen. The professor had entered the room again and realized that I was the only one reading the textbook. I looked up at him when he entered and saw the surprise on his face. I was an twelve year old in a class full of fourteen and fifteen year olds…and I was the first one finished. Once the surprise ended, he actually smiled. I remembered the conversation that I'd heard. He was the one who couldn't wait to get me into his class.

_(Sunshine, you ok?)_

I hid my smile in my book. I knew if I didn't contact them soon, they'd contact me. _(Yeah dad. I'm fine. Just reading. I wondered how long it would take you to contact me)_

_(Well, you sure weren't contacting us and I missed you.) _I grinned. I could hear the pout in dad's thoughts. _(Whatcha reading?)_

_(Electricity and Magnetism)_

_(Huh?)_

_(She's in physics class, Jack)_

_(Hi mama)_

_(Hi honey. You doing ok?)_

_(Yeah. I'm fine. Landon's here and so is Cassie. They've been keeping an eye on me the entire day)_

_(Ok. We'll let you get back to class. Love you Sunshine)_

_(Love you guys too)_

"Pens down, exam booklets closed. The exam is over," said Professor Thompson. "Pass all exams forward please."

We did and the rest of the class began to read the work. I noticed he pulled mine out and began to look at it. His eyes widened in surprise. When he looked up, I looked down. I kept my eyes on my book, not really seeing the information. I was nervous about what he would say.

When class was over, Landon took my hand and started to lead me from the room to lunch, but the professor stopped us.

"Mr. Savage, I would like a word with Miss. O'Neill in private please," he said.

I think he saw the warning in Landon's eyes. I know I felt the tension in his body. I touched his arm. "I'll be ok," I said softly.

He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. He was so much taller than me and he hadn't even finished growing. He smiled at me and walked out the door.

"Is there a problem. sir?" I asked, shuffling my feet.

"No. I just wanted to let you know how you did on your exam." He looked through a stack of tests before he found mine. He handed it to me with no expression on his face.

I closed my eyes and opening them, looked at the exam. He'd graded it. A big fat _A+ _at the top. This time, I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face.

"I have only one question," he asked.

"Sir?"

"How did you know all of this? You haven't read the text that was covered here. You haven't been in a classroom since you were five years old. How did you know all of this?" He sounded dumbfounded.

"My mom is Major Samantha O'Neill. She's an astrophysicist and she taught me everything I know about physics. She's published papers and everything."

"The name doesn't sound familiar."

"Her maiden name was Carter," I said.

"Your mother is Dr. Samantha Carter?" he asked in shock. I guess he didn't recognize her in her BDU's. Come to think of it, mom does look different in her BDU's than she does in her scientist getup.

I smiled. "Yes, sir. But, she's a Major in the Air Force and she's married to my dad, Colonel Jack O'Neill."

"Your mother is Dr. Samantha Carter?"

I giggled a little. His reaction was kind of funny. "Yes, sir. She's taught me everything I know about physics and calculus and chemistry."

He was still in shock that mom was famous in science circles. "Sir?"

He looked at me with something in his eyes…respect, I think. "Yes, Miss O'Neill?"

"May I be dismissed?

"Sorry. Yes. I imagine Mr. Savage is still standing at the door."

"Thank you sir. Do I need to leave the test?"

"No. You may take that home. In fact, I think I'll be sending all of your tests home."

"Why?" Had I done something wrong?

"I want your parents to know how lucky they are to have such a brilliant child."

I blushed. Damn it. They needed to stop this. "Thank you sir," I mumbled.

I turned and walked out of the room. Immediately, Landon took my hand and pulled me to him.

"I still can't get over the fact that you're here…you're really here," he whispered.

"Me too," I replied.

"Hey you two. Let's eat!" Caleb said, coming up behind us. He started to take my hand and Landon actually growled at him.

"Mine," he said, pulling me back to him and wrapped one arm around me.

I grinned at Cassie. To me, he was undeniably the hottest boy in school and he was mine. He only wanted me…no one else.

"Find your own girlfriend," he growled at the twins.

"I have," said Connor. "She's just not here."

"As have I," said Caleb, taking Cassie's hand.

The smile left my face. "You never told me you knew them…or that you were Caleb's girlfriend."

"I didn't know that you knew them. I would've told you where he was or told him where you were."

I nodded. "It's just…"

"Just what, honey?" asked Landon.

"Everything is happening so fast," I said, with a trembling voice. "I've got a bad feeling, Landon. Something bad's gonna happen."

Landon held me tighter and kissed my temple. "Everything's gonna be fine," he whispered. "I'm here now…and I'm not letting you go again."

Somebody's stomach growled, breaking the tension among us, and causing us to laugh. "I think that's our cue to eat," said Connor.

A red-haired girl walked up and hooked her arm around Connor's. "Who's your new friend?" He removed her arm and stepped more towards us.

"She's not exactly a _new _friend, Allison. We've known her a long…long time." He smiled at me and Landon. "Jessie O'Neill, this is Allison Brandon. Allison, this is Jessie."

"You're the new girl aren't you," she said.

"Yeah," I said softly.

She smiled at me. "Welcome to Stevenson's," she said reaching out to hug me.

I backed against Landon and I saw a frown appear on her face. "What? What'd I do?"

"I…I'm sorry," I stuttered. I turned and buried my head in Landon's chest. He wrapped his arms protectively around me. "I…I…"

"She doesn't let a lot of people touch her. It's nothing against you, Allison," said Cassie. "There's only certain people that she _will _let touch her." She reached out and gripped my shoulder gently. "It's ok, Jessie," she spoke softly to me. I still wouldn't look up. Landon held me tighter as I trembled.

"And I suppose you're one of those people?" she asked angrily.

"Yes," she said. "As is Landon, Caleb, and Connor."

"Why?" she asked, trying to put her arm through Connor's.

"Because I know her. Her mom and my mom are best friends," said Cassie, putting her arm through Caleb's.

"How long have _you_ known her?" she asked Landon.

"If you _don't _mind, Allison, we'd like to eat lunch some time today," said Landon with a warning in his voice. I looked up at him and he smiled before kissing my forehead.

She saw the warning in his eyes, more than heard it in his voice. "Fine, be that way. Connor, are you coming to the party on Friday?"

"For the hundredth time…NO," said Connor.

"Why not?" she whined.

"Because I said so. I've got a girlfriend."

"What's her name? Does she go to this school?"

"Her name is Titania, and no. She doesn't go to this school," he said.

"Come on guys," said Landon. "Let's get something to eat."

Landon let go of me, but kept hold of my hand. Surprisingly, I felt safe even though the cafeteria was crowded. We got our food and sat down to eat. I didn't want to think about anything…only the way that I felt: safe and loved.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Most of the girls ignored me because I was with Landon. He'd told them that I was the one whom he'd been waiting for. It was hard to explain.

At the end of the day, Landon walked me to my parents and gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll see you Monday?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Here," he said handing me a piece of paper. "Our phone number. Call me tomorrow."

_(Can I give them our phone number dad?)_

_(Yeah, but you promised to tell us about them)_

_(I will. Thanks)_

I quickly wrote down ours and handed it to Landon. "I'll call you tomorrow," I said softly.

He smiled and opened the door for me. I got in and watched him as we drove away. I couldn't keep the grin off my face. I'd found them again…my friends and my protector. But, like I said. I'd given him my heart when I was five. Now, I'm twelve and he's fourteen. I knew that we're destined to be together. Don't ask me how I now…I just do. He said he could see things in me and he knew that we were meant to be together.

I turned back and stared out the window, with the smile still on my face.

"Well?" asked dad.

"Well, what?" I asked.

"How was your first day of school, honey?" asked mom.

"Weird," I said.

"How so? Do you have any homework?"

"Yeah a little bit. Oh…and I took my first physics test today," I said.

"They made you take a test your first day? That's just cruel," said dad.

"They didn't _make _me take the test dad. I wanted to," I said with a grin.

"What?" he asked, sounding shocked. "You _wanted _to take the test?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile.

"Why?"

"Don't look so shocked, Jack," said mom. "You're always sayings she's just like me."

"Yeah, that's not what surprised me."

"Well?"

"Just the fact that _anybody _would _want _to take a test is beyond me," said dad.

I laughed at the expression that I could see on dad's face in the rearview mirror. He threatened to tickle me senseless if I didn't stop laughing.

"Why did you want to take that test?" he asked, as he pulled into the driveway.

"Because I knew I could do it," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"How'd you do?" asked mom.

I smiled and reached into my backpack, pulled out the test, and handed it to mom. She looked at it and actually squealed.

"What?" asked dad. "What?"

She handed him the test and he shouted, "Yes! That's my girl!"

I grinned and got out of the truck. Dad grabbed me around the waist and swung me around in circles, making me dizzy. He actually tossed me to mom and she did the same.

"Mom! You're gonna make me sick!" I exclaimed as she continued to swing me around.

She stood me up and I stumbled. "Now, I'm dizzy," I said as mom caught me, steadying me.

"You didn't even study for it!" said dad. "An _A_+. My baby made an A+ on her first test…her first day," he yelled, pulling me into his arms again and hugging me tightly.

"Dad! Shhh…" I said. "Keep your voice down! The neighbors'll hear you!"

He and mom laughed. "Come on. Put your bag in your room and get changed."

"Why?"

"We're taking you out to eat tonight to celebrate," said mom.

I smiled and went to do as I was told. I had just finished tying my shoes when mom walked on. "Honey?"

"Hmmm?"

"Who is this Landon? What is he to you?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure. All I know is he tried to protect me when I was in the orphanage and in the first home. He's my protector," I said as dad walked in.

"What's that mean?"

"He's two years older than me and he would beat up the other kids when they picked at me for being so small," I said softly. I really hated remembering this stuff. "He would sneak food from the kitchen when they wouldn't let me have any…things like that."

I stood and walked to the window. "I remember one night, I'd been sent to bed without dinner again because I had missed a spot on the window I was cleaning. I kept telling them that because I was short, I couldn't reach it, but they didn't listen. They never listened. It had been a couple of days since I'd been allowed to eat anything anyway. But, Landon snuck into the kitchen and made me a cheese sandwich."

I fought the tears welling up inside, threatening to burst out. I was shaking, but I was able to keep them from seeing it. I clenched my fists and dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand in order to control my emotions.

"He kept doing that whenever I got in trouble. Or he'd bring me a blanket when they took mine away. He'd put medicine on my cuts and bruises. He helped me and they never caught him. But, they found the crumbs from the sandwiches in my room and I got whipped for it. More like beaten…with his belt." I knew I still carried the scars from that beating…both physically and emotionally. The shaking became uncontrollable. I couldn't hold back the flood of emotions anymore.

"I was only five years old!" I cried. I began to fall to my knees, but dad caught me before I hit the floor. He pulled me onto his lap and held me, rocking me gently, until I was cried out. When I looked up, I saw mom had joined us on the floor and was stroking my hair softly, tears streaming down her face. I looked up at dad and saw the same tears in his eyes.

"Why can't I forget this? Am I ever gonna forget this?" I asked him shakily.

He reached up one hand and stroked the tears from my cheeks. "No, baby. You'll never forget. But, you will eventually move past it."

"Like you and Iraq?" I asked softly.

"Yeah. I'll never forget what happened to me in that prison. But, you and your mom have healed the pain it caused…you got rid of the nightmares," he said, continuing to stroke my cheek.

I shook my head. "Better be prepared," I said sitting up.

"For what, honey?" asked mom.

I shuddered. "Every time I think about this stuff, I have nightmares."

"You wanna sleep with us tonight?" asked dad.

"No. I'll just try to keep the screaming and crying down to a dull roar," I said with a hiccup.

Mom rubbed my back gently. "Honey, you know you can sleep with us if you start having nightmares."

"I know. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm too old to sleep with my parents," I said. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"I know, honey," she said with a smile. She reached out and stroked my cheek before kissing my forehead. "But, like I said last night, you'll always be my baby."

I finally smiled at her. "Thanks mama."

"You're welcome baby," she said hugging me tightly.

"Now, are you guys ready to eat?"

"Dad…it's only 3:30."

"I can see that," he said.

"I've got homework."

"Well, finish your homework and then we'll go eat," said mom, pulling me off the floor. "What subject?"

"Calculus," I said, pulling my book and notebook out of my bag. "Also, history and physics."

"Need some help?"

"Actually, yeah. I'm having a problem with these two," I said, pointing to the calculus equations that were giving me trouble.

"I think I'll leave you two geniuses to it," said dad. "This is definitely waaay over my head." He stood and started to leave my room.

"Daddy?" I rarely called him 'daddy' anymore, only when I wanted something or when I was scared. This time, I wanted to tell him something.

"Hmm?" He turned and looked at me.

"I love you," I said softly.

He smiled and walked back over to us. He pulled me from my desk chair and hugged me hard – popping my back in the process. He kissed me on the forehead and said, "I love you too, Sunshine." He ruffled my hair and went downstairs.

About an hour later, I'd finished my homework and we were on our way to _O'Malley's_. Dad had called Daniel, Janet, Cassie, and Teal'c, but only Daniel and Janet showed up. Cassie was spending the night at another friend's house. Teal'c was on Chulak with his son and Bratac. I was tired…emotionally drained. But, I managed to stay awake during dinner. They were all proud of the test score.

"I still can't believe that you made an A+ on your first test! And you didn't even have to study for it!" said Daniel.

"Yeah," I said with a yawn. "I know." I laid my head on dad's shoulder.

"Ok guys. Dinner's over. Time to get home and into bed," said mom.

We said our 'goodnights' and left for home. After I took my shower, I was sitting on my bed reading _The Hobbit_. It was only about 7:30, but I was exhausted. They came in to say goodnight.

We did the usual routine. I hugged and kissed both of them and they returned it.

"Sweet dreams, Jessie," said mom.

I shuddered, thinking about the nightmares that I knew would come. Dad caught it.

"You ok, Jessie?"

"Yeah. Just…remembering," I said with a pain-filled sigh.

"Are you sure you don't wanna sleep with us?" asked mom.

"Yeah," I said with another yawn.

"Well, you know where we're at if you get scared," said dad rubbing my head.

"I know. Night guys."

"Night honey," said mom.

"Night Sunshine," said dad.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I knew they stood there and watched for any sign that I was having a nightmare. I vaguely heard them leave the room a few minutes later.


	2. Dreams and Nightmares

_Sam's POV_

She'd grown up so much since she came home. She'd been home for almost two years and she was finally loosening up. She was now 4'3" and weighed 60lbs. She'd started her period about three months ago and that scared the hell out of her. But, Janet and I sat down and told her what it meant. Not too long after that, we'd gone shopping for her first bra. Let me tell you. I don't know who was more embarrassed – Jack or Jessie. That was funny. We had some interesting pictures from that day. I don't think I've ever seen Jack that red before.

I really hated asking Jessie about Landon. But, we needed to know what he was to her. I knew she'd known him and his brothers in the orphanage and in the first home. I knew he'd protected her. But, I didn't know _how_ he'd protected her. Now we knew how.

Jack and I showered and crawled into bed. "What're you thinking?" he asked, pulling me into his arms.

I chuckled. "More like praying."

"Ah…for what?"

"That Jessie won't dream tonight," I said with a sigh. He was doing some interesting things to my neck with his teeth and tongue.

"Yeah. Do you know how much I really want to kill that little Assgard?" he said, stopping his ministrations on my neck. "The one who took her from us in the beginning?"

"Yeah. Me too," I said softly.

"Honey, the only thing we can do is let her know how much we love her and that we're going to be here for her…no matter what happens," he said, loosening his grip and allowing me to turn over and face him.

"I know…I know," I said leaning in to him and placing my head on his chest.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I just realized something," he said, surprise evident in his voice.

"What?"

"Charlie never called me 'daddy'. He always called me 'dad' or 'dada', when he was smaller. When Jessie calls me 'daddy', it melts my heart in ways I can't explain."

"I know, Jack," I said, stroking his cheek. "And you say you're not good with words." I leaned up and kissed him gently.

What started out as a soft kiss – a goodnight kiss – quickly escalated out of control. We made love until, exhausted, we collapsed in each others' arms. We slept for a few hours – perfect, uninterrupted sleep. Then around 0300, Jessie's cries woke us.

Quickly dressing, we ran into her room. She'd screamed herself hoarse and was in the fetal position on the floor beside her bed. She was shaking so bad that it seemed she would shake herself apart.

She wasn't making any more sounds and seemed to be in shock. We couldn't wake her up. Jack picked her up and laid her on her bed. She was soaked with sweat and tears. Jack turned his back as I put her in some dry clothes.

"Jessie…baby, open your eyes," I said, stroking her sweat-dampened hair out of her eyes. "Wake up, Jessie. It's just a dream."

She continued to shake, but nothing would wake her up.

"Come on, Sunshine. Open your eyes," said Jack. "Shit! She's burning up! Sam, call Janet. Something's wrong."

I reached for the phone by Jessie's bed and dialed Janet's number.

"Fraiser residence," said an extremely sleepy Daniel.

"Daniel?"

"Uh…Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Umm…I can explain," he stammered.

"Look, let me talk to Janet," I said hurriedly. Jessie's shaking was getting worse and she still hadn't opened her eyes.

I heard him say, "It's Sam."

I heard her say, "We are sooo busted."

"Sam?"

"Janet, something's wrong with Jessie. She's hot to the touch. She woke us up screaming and we can't wake her up and now she's having convulsions."

"I'll be right there."

"She's on her way," I said hanging up the phone.

"Good," said Jack.

Jessie was still shaking very badly. She was locked in a nightmare and couldn't find her way out. Jack went to get a cold washrag because she was still burning up.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," she kept repeating over and over again. I shook her gently, but she still didn't wake up. I shook her a little harder and got the same results.

"Here," said Jack, handing me the washrag.

I took it from him and dabbed at her forehead with it. "Please baby. Please wake up," I begged her.

Whatever she was dreaming about had her fully locked inside her own mind. I could tell from the look on her face that she was deathly afraid of something.

Daniel and Janet arrived minutes later, using the key that Daniel had. We were still sitting on Jessie's bed, both of us holding her hands, trying to keep her from shaking herself apart.

"What happened?" asked Daniel.

"I don't know," said Jack. "She woke us up screaming and we can't wake her up."

"Why can't we wake her up?" I said, choking on a sob.

Jack pulled me into his arms as Janet worked on our daughter. Minutes passed without a sound other than Jessie's cries. Finally, Janet looked up.

"Janet?" I asked, fearing the worse.

She shook her head. "I don't know, Sam. I can't find _any _physical reason for the convulsions or the fever. We need to get her to the infirmary and possibly contact the Asgard or the Tok'ra."

Jack picked her limp body up and ran downstairs. I grabbed his keys, wallet, and my purse before running out after them. Daniel was driving and Jack, Jessie, and I were in the back. Her body was burning up and she was still whimpering.

Her breathing was becoming labored. "Daniel, speed up. Something's wrong. We've got to get there now!" said Jack.

I felt the truck accelerate suddenly. Within minutes, we were at the SGC main entrance. The airman on guard realized something was wrong and actually let us go in without signing in.

We got to the infirmary and Jessie's fever was getting worse. Jack laid her on the bed as General Hammond walked in.

"What's going on, Colonel?"

"Jessie's sick, sir."

"She woke us up screaming and we've been unable to wake her. She's terrified of something and we don't know how to help her," I said, frightened.

"Dr. Fraiser?"

"Sir, I suggest we contact the Tok'ra. Maybe they know how to reach Jessie," she said.

"Understood," he said quickly leaving the room.

Janet hooked up her to several machines, one of which was monitoring her heart rate.

"We've got to get her temperature under control," said Janet. "Prepare an ice bath."

A couple of nurses did that and we sat Jessie inside. Her body temperature was close to 106°. If it stayed that high much longer, it would literally fry her brain. That was probably why we couldn't reach her mind.

We finally got her temperature down to 104°, but it wouldn't go any lower. I don't know how long we were in there, but General Hammond came looking for us.

"Jack…Sam."

"Sir?" said Jack.

"We contacted the Tok'ra. Jacob's on his way. There's been no answer to our calls to the Asgard."

"Thank you, sir," I said.

I couldn't move. Although her body temperature was lower, she was still extremely sick. It had something to do with her dreaming…her nightmares. It was almost as if she was being attacked in her dreams.

We got her out of the ice bath and dressed her in shorts and a tank top and laid her back on the bed. Suddenly, she arched her back trying to get away from the bed.

"NOOOOOO!" she screamed. Jack and I tried to hold her down, to no avail.

That's when I realized what she was dreaming about. The beatings, the rapes…everything that had ever happened to her was returning in her dreams.

"Jack?"

"She's dreaming about what happened to her, isn't she?"

"I think so," I said.

"Shit," said Jack as she collapsed to the bed and stopped breathing.

"Janet!" I screamed as the heart monitor flatlined.

She ran back in and pushed us out of the way, beginning CPR immediately. Long, agonizing minutes later, Jessie began to breathe again, but she'd been hooked up to a breathing machine. Our daughter was on life-support.

_Jack's POV_

Three days. Three freaking days Jessie's been on life-support and there doesn't seem to be any chance of her coming out of it. The Tok'ra are on their way, but by the time they get here, it may be too late.

General Hammond contacted the school and told them Jessie had a severe case of the flu and was in the hospital at the base. Her friend Landon called the house and Cassie told him she was sick. He wanted to come see her, but we didn't know him and General Hammond wouldn't authorize it. In a way I was glad. I didn't want anyone but me and Sam with her.

_Incoming traveler. _

Those two words and my heart stopped. Hopefully, it was the Tok'ra…preferably Jacob Carter. I looked at Sam. I knew she looked like me. Her eyes were red-rimmed from all the tears we've both cried for the last three days. Neither one of us had slept for more than a few hours each night. We were exhausted, both physically and mentally. We slept more last night only because Janet had been ordered by General Hammond to slip something in our dinner.

"I'll go," I said.

"Ok," she said softly. I reached over and stroked my wife's cheek before kissing her gently.

"She'll be ok," I said. "She's _got _to be ok."

Tears welled up in her blue eyes, but she held them back. "I know," she said shakily.

I kissed her again and left for the gateroom at a run. Entering the control room, I saw General Hammond, Daniel, and Teal'c already there. The wormhole activated.

"Close the iris," ordered General Hammond.

Walter closed the iris. Several seconds later he said, "Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir."

"Open the iris."

We all went to the gateroom just as Jacob stepped through the event horizon…along with Martouf and Anise. Shit. I could've gone the rest of my life without seeing those two again.

"Jack, what's going on?" asked Jacob.

"What in the hell are _they _doing here, Jacob?" I asked.

"The council wanted them here," said Jacob. "I had no choice. Otherwise, they wouldn't let me come." I could tell he was pissed about this. It made me feel a little better…not a lot.

"Now, what's going on?"

"It's Jessie. She's…," I said. I was interrupted by…

_Colonel O'Neill to the infirmary. I repeat, Colonel O'Neill to the infirmary. _

I took off at a run, not waiting to see if Jacob was following. Running through the hall, I saw Sam slumped against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sam! What happened?"

"She's dying, Jack," she said with a sob. I slid down the wall and took her into my arms. Jacob and the others found us there a few minutes later.

"What's going on?" asked Jacob as they ran up.

I couldn't say anything and neither could Sam. I just shook my head and buried my face in her hair, my tears falling silently. Janet appeared with tears in her eyes.

"Doc?" I croaked out.

She took a deep breath. "I managed to stabilize her, sir. But…"

"She's dying," said Sam sobbing.

"I don't know what else to do," said Janet as Daniel pulled her into his arms.

"Dad, you have to do something," I said. "We can't lose her."

He pushed his way into the infirmary. We managed to get on our feet and stumble our way into the infirmary. Jessie was so pale. The only thing that was keeping her body alive were the machines.

"Martouf, give me the healing device," demanded Jacob.

"Jacob, you cannot…"

"Give me the damned healing device!"

"No. The council did _not _approve of this," said Anise.

"I don't care! This is _my _granddaughter! I'm _not _gonna let her die when I can help her!"

"Jacob…be calm," said Martouf.

"Give me the God damned healing device!"

"No."

I lost it. I let go of Sam and pulled my nine-mil. I grabbed Martouf from behind and pressed the barrel of the gun to his head. "Give him the fucking device or I'll kill you where you stand!"

"Colonel O'Neill…" began Anise. "The Tok'ra high council has forbidden Jacob to heal her like this. They believe this is something that she needs to do herself. I happen to agree with their decision."

Jessie stopped breathing and flatlined again. Anise reached out to Jacob who stepped away from her.

"You bitch!" exclaimed Sam. She drew back her arm and punched Anise in the face, rendering her unconscious.

I reached into Martouf's jacket and took out the healing device. I tossed it to Jacob. "Do it," I said.

Jacob began to maneuver the healing device over Jessie's body. Several minutes later, Jessie began to breathe again and she opened her eyes, looking at me with fear.

I released Martouf and stepped towards Jessie's bed. "Jessie?" I whispered.

She tried to speak, but the breathing tube was preventing it. "Don't try to speak, Jessie. Let Janet remove the tube first," said Sam, tears still streaming down her face as were mine.

She nodded slightly and let Janet remove the breathing tube. She coughed roughly, blood staining her lips. "Janet?"

"It's nomal, guys," she said, wiping the blood from Jessie's lips. "This thing's been her lungs for the last three days. She has to start breathing on her own."

Once Janet was out of the way, both Sam and I took Jessie's hands in our own. "Mama," she said weakly, hoarsely.

"What's the last thing you remember, Jessica?" asked Martouf.

"Get the hell out!" I said, trying to get to him. I was going to beat the shit out of him.

"Dad!" coughed Jessie. That was enough for me to stop trying to get to him.

"I'm here, Sunshine."

"Why are they here?" she gasped out.

"I don't know," said Sam. "Just ignore them."

She nodded slightly…weakly. "How're you feeling, honey?" asked Sam.

"Thirsty," she said softly.

I reached for a glass of ice water and Sam helped her sit up. "Jacob hand me that straw."

Jessie sipped the water slowly before collapsing against Sam. "What happened to me?"

"Jessica…" began a now-conscious Anise.

"General Hammond?"

"Please come with me," said General Hammond, motioning for Martouf and Anise, to follow him.

"General Hammond…" began Anise.

"Now!" he growled.

Once they had left the room, Jessie lay against Sam, her eyes heavy with sleep. "What's the last thing you remember Sunshine?" I asked.

"Falling asleep at home," she said. "Then…" her eyes widened.

"Then what?"

"I dreamed," she said, beginning to tremble.

"Dreamed of what, honey?" asked Sam, pushing Jessie's hair out of her eyes.

"_Him_," she said with tears beginning to fall from her blue eyes.

She started to sob and Sam wrapped her arms around Jessie's small body, rocking her slowly. "Shh…baby. You're safe."

"It…it…it was _so _real," she cried out.

"I know baby. But, it was just a dream," I said.

"Jessie, your powers are becoming stronger," said Jacob. "I guess this is why the Tok'ra did not want me to try to heal her."

"Why couldn't we wake her up?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure, Jack."

With Sam slowly rocking her, Jessie's eyes started to close but she jerked herself awake. "It's ok, baby. We're here. Go to sleep," I said.

She shook her head weakly. "No!" she said, trembling violently.

"It's ok, honey," said Sam.

"No! It'll happen again!" she said as she started to cry again. "I know it will!"

Sam rubbed the back of her head and kissed her forehead. "Shh…mama's here. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"I…I'm scared, mama," cried Jessie, burying her head in Sam's shoulder and holding on to Sam's shirt for dear life.

Sam continued to rock as she said, "I know, baby. I know."

She looked so helpless…they both did…mother and daughter. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't help either one of them. I didn't know _how _to help them.

I did the only thing I could think of. I wrapped my arms around them and held them both. I could feel Jessie trembling uncontrollably. It was like being on a vibrating bed.

"Janet, can we take her home?" asked Sam.

"I'm not sure you should move her just yet."

"Please Aunt Janet. I just wanna go home," begged Jessie, trying to move away from Sam's arms, but she was still so weak she couldn't sit up on her own.

Janet shook her head. "Jessie…you've been unconscious for _three _days. You're so weak you can't even sit up straight."

Jessie stiffened with embarrassment. She was like both me and Sam in that aspect. We both hated being weak and it was worse to remind us. She buried her head in Sam's shoulder.

"Janet…please. Let us take her home. If something happens, we'll bring her back…I promise," I said.

"Alright. But, at the first sign of distress, I want her back here ASAP," said Janet, giving in.

"Dad, you coming?"

"I'll be there in a little bit. I've got to change clothes and I have something to take care of." We all knew he was talking about Martouf and Anise.

I stood and took Jessie from Sam, carrying her out of the room. She laid her head on my shoulder and, by the time we reached General Hammond's office, she was asleep.

Sam knocked on the door and we heard, "Come," from the inside.

Opening the door, we saw that Anise and Martouf were still here. "Jack, is she ok?" asked General Hammond. Everyone present could hear the worry in his voice.

"She's just sleeping, sir. Janet said we could take her home."

"Colonel O'Neill…" began Martouf.

"Don't even talk to us," I said vehemently. "Because of the two of you, my daughter almost died."

"Samantha…"

"Don't Martouf…just don't," said Sam, reaching over and stroking Jessie's long blonde hair.

Freya spoke up. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused."

"Inconvenience? You call letting my daughter almost die an 'inconvenience'? Go to hell," I said angrily. "And when you address my wife, you should call her 'Major O'Neill'," I added just to see the looks on their faces. Priceless…definitely priceless.

Jessie whimpered and shivered in fright. Even in her unconscious state, she could feel the animosity emanating from both Martouf and Anise. "Shh…baby. I'm here," I whispered, holding her tighter.

"Your 'what'?" asked Anise with shock and jealousy very evident in her voice.

"His wife," said Sam. "Now, if you don't mind, we've got to get _our _daughter home."

She tucked her arm through mine and together we left the mountain. We knew they'd follow but at the moment, we really didn't care. All we cared about was getting Jessie home where she belonged.

Sam drove as I held Jessie. We knew it was against the law, but like I said, we really didn't care. I dreaded the conflict that would come when they showed up…and they would show up. Unfortunately, it was inevitable.

_Sam's POV_

I couldn't believe Martouf and Anise were willing to let Jessie die just because the Tok'ra high council refused to let dad heal her. I don't know what their problems were, but I knew they were going to show up at home…and there would be a fight. I just hoped I could keep Jack out of jail and keep him from killing them.

Once we got home, Jack laid Jessie in her bed. She automatically rolled over on her stomach with her head facing me. She whimpered in her sleep and Jack began to rub her back softly. It stopped her whimpering. Her phone rang and I picked it up on the first ring so it wouldn't wake her up.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. O'Neill? It's Landon. I was just calling to see if Jessie's ok."

I could hear the worry in his voice and couldn't help but smile. "She's home now, but she's still not feeling well." Jack gave me a strange look. I covered the mouth piece and whispered, "It's Landon."

Jack just smiled and continued to rub Jessie's back. "Is she gonna be ok?" asked Landon.

"We think so," I said. "Her doctor said she needs to stay home and rest a few more days, but she'll be fine."

"Can I see her? Please? I just found her again. I…I don't think I could stand to lose her again," he said softly, his voice thick with tears.

"She's sleeping right now. But, let me talk to my husband and we'll see," I said. "Give me your phone number and after I talk with Jack, I'll give you a call."

He did and then said something I'll never forget. "Tell her I love her," he said softly. "Bye Mrs. O'Neill."

"Bye Landon," I said. I smiled when I hung up the phone.

"What?" asked Jack.

"He said to tell her that he loves her," I said with a grin.

"She's only twelve!" said Jack loudly, causing Jessie to whimper again. "Sorry, honey," he whispered, rubbing her back again.

We laid down beside her and fell asleep. For the first time in three days, we slept peacefully. A few hours later, we were awakened by a car pulling into the driveway. We made sure Jessie was comfortable before going downstairs to see who'd shown up. _Shit_. It was my dad, but it was also Martouf and Anise.

"Dad, what in the hell are _they _doing here?" I asked angrily. I didn't want them anywhere near my daughter, much less in my home.

"They need to speak with Jessie," said dad.

"Why?" asked Jack, not letting them in the house.

"It's something that the Tok'ra high council needs Jessie to do," said Anise.

I looked at dad. "Don't look at me like that Sam. I'm out of the loop on this one."

"Until we know what's going on, you're going nowhere _near _my daughter," said Jack.

"Dad?"

We turned and saw Jessie trying to make her way down the stairs. She was gripping the railing and could barely stand. We quickly made our way to her, just as she collapsed. Jack picked her up and cuddled her against his chest before sitting down on the couch.

"You should've stayed in bed, Sunshine," he said.

"I was alone," she said with a shiver. "I don't wanna be alone." I reached over and felt her forehead.

"You've got fever," I said. I pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and handed it to Jack. I went to the kitchen and got her some medicine and water. When I returned, I handed her some _Tylenol _and a glass of water. I helped her sit up while he held the water for her.

"Better baby?"

"Mmm hmm," she said sleepily. Then she noticed we had visitors and tensed in Jack's arms.

"Easy baby," he said. "You're safe.

As she looked at Martouf and Anise, her eyes widened and she tensed even more.

_(They're not Tok'ra anymore.)_

_(What?)_

_(They're _not _Tok'ra. They're working for the Goa'uld)_

_(How do you know?)_

_(They _feel _different dad. They're not Lantesh and Anise anymore)_

_(Oh shit)_

"Dad, we need to talk to you alone," said Jack.

"Colonel O'Neill, we must question Jessie before we leave," said _Martouf_.

"Not until we talk to my dad," I said. "Please wait outside."

They both gave Jessie strange looks and reluctantly left the house. "What's going on Sam?" asked dad.

"They're working for the Goa'uld, Grandpa," said Jessie. "They're not Tok'ra anymore."

"What're you saying Jessie?"

She started to get agitated. "Grandpa…I know the difference between Tok'ra and Goa'uld. I can _feel_ the difference." She tried to sit up and had to bite her lip to hold the tears in when she couldn't. "Please Grandpa. You have to believe me. They're working for the Goa'uld now…not the Tok'ra."

She started to sob as Jack began to rock her slowly. Dad took a deep breath. "How do you know this?" asked Selmak.

"I read their thoughts when I woke up. The reason they didn't want me to live was they knew my p-p-powers are g-growing. They knew that it was possible for me to be able to read the symbiote's mind. They're both working for Ba'al. He thought this would be her chance to take out the Tok'ra," said Jessie, sobbing and shuddering through the words.

"Easy. What're we gonna do?" asked Jack, clutching Jessie tighter.

"Jessie, are you strong enough to use your powers?" asked dad.

"Dad?"

"I need her to knock them out so we can get them back to the SGC."

"But…"

"Jessie, are you strong enough to use your powers?" he asked again.

"I think so," she said softly.

"Ok. When I call them in, I want you to knock both of them out. Then the four of us will take them back to the SGC."

Jessie was terrified. I could see that in her eyes. But, she was strong…maybe not physically right then, but mentally, she was strong. Whatever she thought she had to do, she would find a way.

"Dad?"

"Yeah baby?"

"I'm scared," she said softly.

"I know, baby. So am I. But, I promise you're gonna be fine. I'll kill both of those bastards before I let them touch you."

He kissed her forehead and I did the same. He moved so he could sit her on the couch. She slumped over so we propped her up against the pillows. We moved behind her just so we could be close to her. I hated having to put her through this.

Jack nodded at dad. "We're ready," he said. I noticed that he'd pulled his nine-mil and got it ready just in case.

We both gripped Jessie's shoulders, just for the contact and to reassure her that we were there and that we weren't going to let anyone hurt her. Dad went to get the two traitors.

When they walked in, they both immediately sensed something was wrong, but they didn't know what. I guess they just thought Jessie was still weak from her ordeal.

I felt the change in Jessie. She'd put herself in that place where nothing could touch her. Both Jack and I knew that either she did that or she would lose her sanity.

We both removed our hands as we felt the power growing within her weak body.

"Jessica, are you ready to be questioned?"

"No," she said.

"We must insist," said _Martouf_.

"Why? So you can turn me over to the system lords?"

"Why would we do that?" asked _Anise._

"Because you are no longer Tok'ra. You are _both _working for the Goa'uld."

"Jessica, you know this is not true."

"Bullshit! I sense it in your mind! I read the mind of your symbiotes! You're working for Ba'al!"

They both pulled some kind of weapons. Jessie's power grew until it coalesced into the bright blue glowing orb. She automatically sent up a shield that covered me, Jack, and dad.

"Then you know the three of you must die," said _Martouf_.

"I don't think so," said Jessie, gasping for breath. I could tell she was weakening.

_(Do it now, Jessie)_

She let the orb fly and it grew to encompass both of them. As soon as they were unconscious, she collapsed.

"Jessie!"

"I'm sorry, mama," she said weakly, closing her eyes and ceasing to breathe. Jack immediately started CPR. We got all three of them into the truck and took off at a high speed towards the mountain. I don't think I've ever driven that fast. Jessie stopped breathing three times and all three times, Jack breathed for her.

We made it to the infirmary just as she quit breathing a fourth time. "What're you two doing back here?" asked Janet, coming out of her office, followed by Daniel. Then she noticed Jack was performing CPR on Jessie. "What in the hell happened?" she demanded, pushing Jack out of the way and putting Jessie back on the breathing machine.

"What happened?"

"She unmasked two Goa'uld spies and rendered them unconscious by using her powers," said Selmak pointing to the former Tok'ra sitting on the floor, glaring at us. It took two guards to bring them in and tie them using plastic cuffs.

"Dad, can you use the healing device again?"

"I can try, but I don't know…"

"Do it!" ordered Jack.

Dad retrieved the healing device and began working on Jessie, starting with her lungs. He had Janet remove the breathing tube so when she regained consciousness she wouldn't have to go through having it removed again.

Dad healed her. "They must have done something to her when you were at the base."

Jessie moaned and opened her eyes. "Mama?"

"I'm here baby," I said, taking her hand and kissing her forehead.

"They poisoned me," she said weakly.

"What?"

"They poisoned me," she said before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

"Dad?"

"I need a sample of her blood," he said.

Janet drew a vial of blood and handed it to my dad. "Sam, I'm gonna need your help."

"Dad…" I protested, not wanting to leave Jessie.

"It's ok, baby. Go on. I'll be here with her," said Jack, kissing me softly.

I wanted to stay. But, I knew that we'd get the answers we needed quicker with two working. "If…" I trailed off on a sob.

"I'll call you if something happens…I promise," he whispered, kissing me again. "Go."

_Jack's POV_

I watched Sam leave with Jacob. At the infirmary doors, she turned around and looked back at me and Jessie with such pain in her eyes, I wanted to take her in my arms and not let her go.

I sat down on Jessie's bed and watched her sleep for hours. Janet was keeping her sedated so she wouldn't be in any pain. I couldn't take staring at the two traitors any longer and had an SF remove them to a holding cell on level sixteen. We were waiting for the High Councilor to show up and do whatever it was he had to do.

I had just dozed off when Sam and Jacob ran into the infirmary. "We've got the cure!" said Sam, holding up a vial of something.

Jessie opened her eyes weakly. "Mama?"

"I'm here, baby. We've got the cure," said Sam, stroking her cheek as Janet injected her with the cure. Sam crawled in the bed with her and pulled her into her arms.

"Just relax, Jessie. You'll feel better in a little while," said Janet.

She nodded and closed her eyes again, relaxing in her mother's arms. "Daddy?"

"I'm right here, Jessie."

"Why'm I so sleepy?"

"My guess is it's the poison," I said, looking to Sam for confirmation.

"That's exactly why, Jessie," said Jacob.

"So the poison is what triggered the dream?" I asked.

"Yes, Jack."

I actually sighed in relief. I was glad that it wasn't us asking about Landon that started all of this. Jessie opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Why did they do this to me?"

"Because they knew you would be able to see through their façade. They thought that if you were out of the picture, they would be safe," said Jacob.

She closed her eyes again as her tears began to fall. I crawled into the bed with them and took them both in my arms. Jessie cried herself to sleep. Once we were sure she was completely asleep, we asked Janet if it was alright to take her back home now that the poison had been neutralized.

"Are you 100 sure the poison is gone?" she asked Jacob.

"Yes," said Selmak. "The cure was relatively simple. She should be completely well in a day or so."

"So, we should be able to take her home right?" asked Sam.

"Yes."

"Good. That's where we'll be if you need us," I said. For the second time that day, I picked up my daughter and carried her out of the mountain.

Once we got home, I laid her back in her bed and we sat there watching her sleep for a long time. Sam grabbed the phone when it rang.

"O'Neill residence," she said. She listened. "No, Landon. I haven't had a chance to talk to Jack about it. She had a relapse and we had to take her back to the infirmary." She listened some more. "She's fine now. Yes, I'll talk to him tonight and we'll call you tomorrow. I will…I promise. Goodnight Landon."

"What was that all about?" I whispered.

"He was worried when I didn't call him back. He wants to see her…to make sure she's ok."

"He really does care about her, doesn't he?" I asked.

"Yeah…I think he does."

I looked at my watch. 0200 hrs. Sheesh. "Why don't we head to bed?" I said softly.

"Why don't we sleep in here tonight?" said Sam.

I grinned. I'd had the same thought she did. After coming so close to losing her, we both wanted to be with her. I took her hand and led her to our room. We changed clothes and crawled into bed with Jessie. I wrapped my arms around Sam and she had her arms wrapped around Jessie. Who knew what would happen in the morning. All I knew was those two bastards were going to pay for what they'd done to my family.


	3. Deception

_My POV_

I think I knew in the back of my mind that mom and dad slept in my bed last night. I was glad. I was scared to be alone. Even though I knew the poison had been neutralized, I was still scared. I turned my head and realized that it was 11:00 in the morning. Sheesh.

Mom and dad were standing there watching me sleep.

"How're you feeling, Sunshine?"

"Like I've been run over by an army of Jaffa," I said, grimacing at the headache just turning my head caused.

"Headache?" asked mom.

"Yeah…big one," I said trying to sit up. "Ow!" The slightest movement caused my head to feel like it would explode.

"Lie still, honey," said mom.

"I'll get you some _Tylenol_," said dad. "And some juice."

He quietly left the room as mom sat down on the side of my bed. "Are you ok, honey?"

"I've been better," I said reluctantly. I tried again to sit up to no avail. So, I gave up. Mom got behind me and sat me up, propping me against her chest.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"You're welcome. You know you just have to ask for help and we'll help you," she said.

"I know, mama. It's just…" I didn't want to continue.

"I know, baby," she said.

She started rocking me slowly. I think she was trying to put me back to sleep, when dad came back in. "Here ya go, Sunshine," he said, handing me the pills and orange juice.

"Thanks, dad," I said. I took the pills and gulped down the juice.

"Now, you need anything else? Laptop, GameBoy, geek magazine?" he asked.

I giggled a little. "I _need_ out of this bed," I insisted, trying unsuccessfully to get away from mom.

"Jessie…" began dad.

"Please?" I begged. "I'm tired of being in bed. I've been in bed for almost a week. Please, dad."

He looked at mom. "Alright. Only if you stay on the couch and rest," he said.

I took a deep breath. I hated being weak. "Alright," I said.

He picked me up. "Wait dad."

"What?"

"I need to go to the bathroom," I said. He handed me to mom who carried me into my bathroom. She helped me get my balance and sat me on the toilet. She sat down on the side of the tub.

"Uh…mom?"

"Hmm?"

"I can do _this _by myself," I said with an embarrassed look.

"Jessie…"

"Please, mama. I can do this by myself," I begged her. I really had to go, but it didn't look like she was going to leave. She looked at me hard.

"Alright," she said, standing. "But, when you're finished, you call me and I'll help you get up."

"Alright," I said.

She left the bathroom and closed my door. I knew she was leaning against the door, waiting for me to finish. I heard dad call for her and heard her footsteps leave my bedroom. I did what I had to do and cleaned myself up. I stood and, leaning against the wall, pulled my shorts up. Holding onto the wall, I made my way over to the sink and washed my hands. I was so tired by the time I finished, I couldn't hold myself up any longer. I fell to the floor, angry at my own weakness.

I still didn't call for help. I couldn't face mom after I promised her I'd call for help. I let the tears fall silently down my face. I couldn't face mom or dad. I heard footsteps running up the stairs and then my door opened.

"Jessie!" exclaimed mom, as she and dad rushed into the bathroom. She picked me up off the floor and cradled me in her lap.

"Why didn't you call for me?" she asked.

"I thought I could do it myself," I said angrily, knowing I'd probably made her mad.

"It's ok, baby. Jessie, you're just stubborn." Hmmm…she didn't sound mad. But, with mom, you never knew.

"You hungry, Sunshine?" asked dad.

"A little. But…"

"But, what?"

"I wanna shower first," I said.

"No."

"Mom…please." I knew I was begging, but I didn't care. I _needed _to take a shower!

"You _can_ take a bath, but until you're strong enough to stand on your own, you're _not_ taking a shower," she said.

She sat me on dad's lap and began to run my bath water. I couldn't even sit up straight on dad's lap. Stubborn ain't the word. Hard headed was more like it.

Once the tub was full, dad handed me back to mom. "I'll go fix us some lunch."

She helped me undress and sat me in the tub. "Now. I'll leave you alone to bathe yourself. But, when you're ready to get out, you _call _me. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said softly, looking at the bubbles in the water.

She cupped my chin and raised my head. "It's ok, honey. Your dad and I love you and we want to help you." She kissed me on the forehead and left the room.

I bathed and washed my hair. Once again, I was too stubborn to call for help. I let the water out and crawled out of the tub. I was able to wrap myself in a towel and sit on the toilet before my strength gave out.

_(Mama?)_

_(Hmm?)_

_(I'm…uh…I'm done.)_

_(Be right there.)_

A minute later, she opened the door and saw me sitting on the toilet. "This is as far as I could get," I said sheepishly.

"Damn, kid. You are _so _stubborn," she said.

Although she tried to hide it, I heard the disappointment in her voice. She helped me dry off. "Stay here. I'll get you some clean clothes."

I started crying when she left the room. I heard her and dad talking in my bedroom. For some reason, my hearing was better than it had been. I knew they were whispering.

"She's so damned stubborn, Jack! She could've fallen and hurt herself and she still wouldn't ask for help."

"I know. I don't know what we're gonna do with her if she doesn't start asking for help when she needs it."

I heard the sorrow in both their voices. They just didn't understand. I'd been on my own for a long time. I learned not to depend on anybody. It was hard for me to ask for help, even from my parents. They didn't deserve my problems. I knew what I had to do.

I wiped the tears from my eyes before mom returned. "Hey, Sunshine. You ok?" asked dad.

"I'm fine," I said softly.

"Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not," I said.

"You were," said mom, touching my face lightly.

"I'm fine. I just had an eyelash in my eye," I said, looking away from them.

I knew they didn't believe me, but right then I didn't care. I'd already disappointed them. Once my strength was back, I was out of there. They didn't need to put up with someone who had trouble trusting anybody.

I let mom help me get dressed and pretended to be better. Dad carried me downstairs and brought me a sandwich for lunch. "Here ya go, Sunshine."

"Thanks, dad," I said softly. Mom handed me a glass of milk. "Thanks, mama."

"Welcome," they both said.

They both watched carefully as I ate. I guess it was to make sure that I ate everything. I had to force it down. My stomach was in turmoil and my mouth was dry. Then the phone rang, causing me to jump.

"Easy, baby," said mom as she answered the phone. "Hello? Yeah. She's right here."

She turned to me. "You feel like talking to Landon?"

"Not really," I said. "Tell him I'll call him back later," I added, faking a yawn.

"She's too tired to talk, Landon. She said she'll call you back later. Ok. I'll tell her. Bye." She hung up and turned to me. "He said to tell you he loves you and he misses you."

For the first time that day, I truly smiled. Then, I didn't have to fake a yawn. I was so freaking tired. But, I didn't fight it. I knew that in order to leave, I'd have to have at least a little strength.

Dad took the plate and cup away from me as mom coaxed me into lying down with my head in her lap. "You ok, honey?" asked mom, stroking my hair.

"Yeah. Just tired," I said yawning again.

"Then sleep, honey. Everything will be fine when you wake up."

I couldn't say anything else. I knew if I did, I wouldn't have the strength to leave my home…my family.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

After Jessie woke up from her nap, we ate dinner and then watched _Stand By Me_. By the end of the movie, she was exhausted, so we helped her get into bed.

"I love you, Jessie. I just want you to get better," I whispered when I kissed her on the forehead.

"I know dad. I love you too," she said sadly. There was something in her eyes. I didn't know what it was.

"Night mom."

"Goodnight Jessie. I love you honey," said Sam, kissing her forehead.

"I love you too."

We watched her as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. We sat there a few minutes, just watching her.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?" I sat beside her bed, stroking her long, blonde hair.

"Is she gonna be ok?" I could hear the worry in Sam's voice.

"God, I hope so," I said. "I just wish she would ask for help when she needs it!"

After a few more minutes, we went to bed ourselves. Around 0400, I woke up. Something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was definitely wrong.

I gently shook Sam awake. "Sam."

"Mmm..." she moaned, but didn't wake up.

I shook her a little harder. "Sam. Baby, wake up."

She opened her eyes and rolled towards me. "Jack? What's wrong?"

"I don't know…something," I said. "I'm gonna go check on Jessie."

"Ok," she said with a yawn.

I pulled on a pair of sweats and went across the hall to Jessie's room. I knocked. "Jessie? You ok, Sunshine?"

When she didn't answer, I opened her door, hoping she was just asleep. She wasn't in bed. I looked in her bathroom and she wasn't in there either. I started to panic. Then I found the note on her desk.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I'm sorry for giving you so much trouble. You just don't understand how hard it is for me to ask for help from anybody. Even you guys. It's hard – even after all this time – for me to trust anyone. I know you're disappointed in me. It hurts to know that I've disappointed you. I'm so sorry. I've been taking care of myself for a long time. I'll be fine. Just…let me go. I'll be alright. I love you guys…more than you'll ever know. Please forgive me._

_Love Always,_

_Jessie_

I ran back to our room. "Sam…get up. Jessie's gone."

"What?" she exclaimed, jumping out of bed.

"I found this," I said, handing her the letter. She read it as I continued. "Help me search the house."

We searched the entire house and didn't find her. I was really panicking by this time. We pulled on our clothes and jumped in the truck. As weak as she had been, we thought she couldn't have made it very far. Sam spotted her a few blocks away, curled up under the trees. She was trembling violently.

"Jessie!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the truck.

She opened her eyes and tried to roll away from us, but she was so cold, she could barely move. "Let me go!" she said weakly.

"Honey, it's freezing out here. Why did you run away?" asked Sam, reaching for her.

She tried to back up, but was so weak she couldn't even move. "Why did you look for me? Why couldn't you just let me go?"

"Jessie, you're our daughter. You belong at home…with us."

She was still shivering violently and was beginning to cry silently. When I went to pick her up, she struggled.

"Let me go! Please, just let me go!" she cried out, struggling violently against me.

"Jessie, stop it," I ordered.

She went stiff in my arms, shivering uncontrollably. She was wearing nothing but the pajamas she'd gone to bed in. It was close to 10° outside and was beginning to snow. I wrapped my arms around her trying to keep her warm.

"Sam, grab the blanket out of the truck," I said. When she had, she handed it to me. I wrapped it around Jessie and stood with her in my arms.

We got in the truck and went home. Jessie cried silently the whole time. It was eerie. I didn't know what we'd done. I didn't know how to make it better.

When we got back home, I carried her inside and Sam ran her a bath to warm her up. Stripping her down, she put her in the tub and I came in so the three of us could talk. Sam made sure she was covered by the bubble bath, before she called me in.

"Jessie, why did you run away?"

"You're mad at me for not asking for help," she said still shivering. "I thought if I wasn't here, you wouldn't have to worry about me anymore."

I reached out and stroked her hair gently. "Baby, we're _not _mad at you. We're worried about you. We just want you to ask us for help when you need it."

"I don't…" she trailed off.

"Don't what, baby?"

"I don't know how," she said, just before she broke down completely.

Sam wrapped her arms around Jessie and hugged her tightly. I held out the towel and closed my eyes as Sam lifted her out of the tub. Wrapping her in the towel, I left the room so Sam could get her dressed.

"Jack? You can come back in now," said Sam.

I went back inside and saw Jessie sitting on the toilet shivering again. She looked so damned sad. I picked her up and carried her into our room. "Dad…"

"You're staying with us tonight. You're still cold and we can keep you warm," I said in a voice that brooked no argument.

She nodded. "You're probably gonna catch a cold from bein' out there. How long _were _you out there?" asked Sam.

"Since midnight," she said softly.

Four hours. She'd been out in the freezing weather for four hours. Yep. She was gonna get sick. Sam and I dressed in our bathroom and went back into our room. She was already asleep. She looked so frail lying there. I let Sam crawl in and then I crawled in behind her. We fell asleep with our daughter in our arms. Neither of us knew how to help her. But, we knew that the next day was going to be interesting. We had to go back to the mountain in order for a _trial _of some sort, regarding Martouf and Freya.

When I woke up around 11:00 that morning, both Jessie and Sam were still asleep. I just laid there enjoying the silence and the feel of my wife and daughter sleeping peacefully beside me.

Jessie stirred a few minutes later, with a soft moan. But, before she could fully awaken, Sam woke up. "Mornin' beautiful," I whispered in her ear.

"Mmm…morning," she whispered back. She turned her head and gave me a long good morning kiss.

"Rent a room," muttered Jessie before coughing slightly.

I felt Sam's smile against my lips and returned it. "How're you feeling, Sunshine?" I asked.

"Cold," she said, with a shiver and a cough.

Sam turned over and placed the back of her hand against Jessie's forehead. "You've got fever," she told her.

"That's whatcha get for playing in the snow in your pj's," I said.

Neither one of them found it funny. But, then again, I didn't really say it to be funny. "Sorry," I said reaching over to stroke her hair. She turned away from me.

"Jessie…it was a stupid thing to say," I said, begging for forgiveness. She didn't say anything else. "Sunshine…I'm sorry."

Sam rolled her over and she'd shut her eyes, tears streaming down her face. She coughed again. "Sam, go get her some cold medicine," I said softly. She nodded, kissed Jessie on the forehead, and left for the medicine.

I moved closer to Jessie and put my arms around her, placing her head on my chest as she cried silently. "I'm so sorry, baby," I said. I started rocking her gently as I had when she was a baby. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I was just trying to lighten the situation." I linked my mind with Sam's so that she would hear what was going on. It was something Thor had taught us in regards to Jessie's abilities, along with keeping her from orbing out.

"I know," she said softly, shivering. "It's just…you were right."

"About what?"

"It's my fault I'm sick. I was the one who ran away." She broke off as a coughing fit overtook her.

I sat her up and rubbed her back until she stopped coughing. She collapsed weakly against me and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling the covers up over her trembling body.

"It's not your fault, honey. If we'd paid closer attention to what you were going through, then we could've helped you."

"You did pay attention. But, I…"

"You what?"

"I overheard you and mom talking about how stubborn I am…and how I could hurt myself because I won't ask for help."

"Jessie…sometimes being stubborn can be a good thing. But, then sometimes, being stubborn can cause you to get hurt," I said. "You said last night that you didn't know how to ask for help."

"Yeah. All the homes I was in taught me one thing. You can't depend on others to help you…not without giving them something in return."

"Jessie, you're my daughter and I love you. It's just…I _want _you to ask for help when you need it. I know it's going to take some getting used to. But, your mom and I love you more than anything. We will do anything to help you get better."

"I know." She started coughing again just as Sam walked in with the medicine.

"Here, Jack," she said handing me a temperature tape. I put it on Jessie's forehead. A few moments later, I read the gauge.

"103°," I said. "Here Sunshine. Drink this," I said handing her the cough medicine.

She gulped it down and gagged. "Nasty," she sputtered.

Sam handed her a glass of orange juice and some pills. "Take these. It's cold medicine," she said.

She took the pills and drank the juice. "At least the juice tastes better than the cough medicine," she said, leaning against me again.

"You wanna stay here or you wanna be in your bed?" I asked, nuzzling the top of her head with my cheek.

"My bed, please," she said softly. "Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Did that cold medicine have something for my headache?"

"Yeah. How bad?"

"Like it was yesterday. Like a Mack truck is running through my head," she said rubbing her temples. "It hurts."

"Come on," I said, picking her up and carrying her into her room. "You want some chicken soup?"

"I just wanna sleep," she said.

"Nope. You have to eat something before you sleep," said Sam. "Go fix her some, Jack. I'll keep her awake."

* * *

_Sam's POV_

Jack went to get Jessie some soup hoping that would warm her up and make her feel better. "Honey, you have to stay awake until your dad gets back, ok?"

"I'll try," she said coughing again.

"You know, you're dad's right."

"Bout what?"

"About us wanting you to ask for help when you need it. It doesn't matter what the problem is, Jessie. Together, we'll be able to take care of it."

"I know. I'm sorry, mama."

"For what?"

"For not trusting you and dad. It's just that after being alone for so long, I still don't know how to act."

"You're acting just fine. You just need to work on the asking for help issue," I said, laying down with her and putting my arms around her. "And we're gonna help you."

Jack came back with her soup. I helped her sit up so she could eat. We had to force her to eat. She really wasn't hungry, but we all knew that she needed some nourishment, otherwise she wouldn't get better.

She drank the soup and the water Jack brought then I laid her back down. She coughed hard and long. Jack handed her a Kleenex and she coughed up something and tossed the Kleenex in her wastebasket. Jack handed her the cough syrup again.

She shook her head. "Nasty stuff," she grumbled.

"I know, Sunshine. But, you've got to take it so you can get better."

"Dad…" she began, but was interrupted by another coughing fit. She tried to sit up but couldn't. I grasped her shoulders and pulled her to a sitting position.

"Drink it, baby," said Jack. This time, she didn't fight it. She drank the medicine and gagged as before.

She started to shiver again and I realized she still had fever. I handed her some more medicine and made her take that too. "Come on, angel."

"What?" she said, closing her eyes.

"I'm gonna help you get into something warmer."

Jack left the room and I helped her get into some warmer, flannel pj's that Jack had bought her for her twelfth birthday. He'd actually found _Colorado Avalanche _flannel pajamas for her! By the time I'd gotten her dressed, she was sound asleep. I laid her back in the bed and covered her up.

"Jack, you can come back in now," I said with a chuckle.

He opened her door and walked back in. "She ok?"

"She's asleep," I said. "She was asleep before I finished getting her dressed."

"Good. She needs the rest," he said, walking over to her bed. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Get better, baby," he whispered. He brushed her hair out of her eyes. Turning to me, he said, "She's burning up."

"I know. Hopefully, the meds I gave her will cut the fever out," I said. I walked over to them and did the same thing. I kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you, angel."

I stepped back and into Jack's arms. We stood there watching Jessie sleep fitfully. Every once in a while, she'd cough harshly a couple of times and then relax.

The phone rang downstairs and we both left her room. Jack picked it up. "O'Neill. No, sir. She's sick. It's a long story, General. But, she's got a really bad cold. We've got her doped up and asleep right now. She ate some soup and then we gave her some medicine and she's been asleep since." He looked at his watch. "About ten minutes. Yes, sir. But, sir…she's sick!" He broke off with a deep sigh and rubbed his hand over his head. "Yes, sir. I understand. We'll be there in twenty minutes."

He hung up the phone and turned to me. "General Hammond?"

"Yeah," he said. "He wanted to know if we were coming to the base today. Apparently, the Tok'ra won't believe that their top two snakes are in fact…well…snakes."

"But, dad saw it too!"

"Yeah, but apparently they don't really believe him or Selmak. They said that Jacob was too close to this. They want Jessie to prove it."

"She's sick!"

"I know, baby. But, Senator Kinsey's there and he wants Jessie there now."

"Damn it! Can't General Hammond do something?"

He put his arms around me. "He tried, Sam. But, Kinsey overruled him." He kissed the top of my head. "Come on. Let's get her and get this over with."

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I couldn't believe that smarmy bastard. My daughter is very sick and he wanted us to take her out in this weather! I'm gonna kill him one of these days.

I had Sam go warm up the truck and I went to get Jessie. She was still shivering. The medicine wasn't doing any good at bringing her fever down. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt out of her closet.

"Dad?" she said with a harsh cough.

I turned around and saw her watching me with sleepy eyes. "It's ok, baby. We've got to go to the base."

"Ok," she said. "I'll be here when you get back."

"You're coming with us. General Hammond said the Tok'ra want to talk to you," I said.

"Why?" she said, yawning widely.

"They don't believe that those two are Goa'uld," I said, being honest with her.

"Oh," she said, closing her eyes.

"Come on, Sunshine. This will keep you warm," I said helping her sit up. I helped her to pull on the sweats and her socks.

"Where's mom?"

"Warming up the truck for you," I said. I wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up. "You ready?"

"Sure," she said softly. She laid her head on my shoulder as I carried her downstairs. Sam was sitting in the passenger seat so I sat Jessie on her lap.

"Hi, mama," she said with a weak smile.

"Hey, baby," said Sam, kissing her forehead. Jessie laid her head on Sam's shoulder and, with Sam softly stroking her arm, went back to sleep.

When we got to the base, she was still asleep. I took her from Sam and carried her into the mountain. At the check point, one of the Airmen asked what was wrong.

"She's sick, Lieutenant," I snapped.

"Senator Kinsey?" he asked.

"Yes. Senator Kinsey is the reason we've got her out in this weather."

We put our hands on the scanner and he let us through and we made our way to the infirmary. We were going to leave Jessie there so she could continue sleeping, but we were stopped before we got there.

"Colonel, Major…the General is waiting for you in the briefing room."

"Sergeant, we're taking Jessie to the infirmary."

"Sir, I have orders to escort the three of you to the briefing room."

"Damn it!" I swore.

We made our way to the briefing room. Kinsey was sitting there looking smug. If I didn't have Jessie in my arms, I would've knocked that smirk off his face.

"Jack?" asked General Hammond.

"She's not doin' too good, sir. She's running a fever and she's been coughing most of the night."

"Colonel O'Neill, please be seated," said Kinsey. "You too, Major Carter."

"O'Neill," I said.

"Excuse me?"

"As I told the two snakeheads, when you refer to my wife, you will refer to her as Major O'Neill," I said, sitting down beside Sam.

He looked angrily at General Hammond. "Why was I not informed of this obvious breach of regulations?"

"Excuse me?" asked General Hammond. "There has been no breach of regulations."

"What about the no fraternization rule? Or does that not apply to these two?"

"No. It doesn't. They were given special dispensation by the President," he said.

"We'll see about that," he said.

"General, why are we here? Jessie's really sick and needs to be home in bed," asked Sam.

"The Tok'ra high council do not believe Jacob's accusation regarding Martouf and Freya."

"Why? Selmak saw it."

"I know, but they want solid proof. The only solid proof is Jessie."

I shook my head as Janet walked in. "I thought I told you to keep her in bed," she said.

"You did, Janet," said Sam angrily. "We were ordered to bring her in here."

Jessie started coughing again and opened her eyes. "Dad…"

"Janet, she's running a fever. We've given her cold medicine, but it's not helping the coughing or the fever," said Sam.

I sat Jessie up and rubbed her back until the coughing fit subsided. Janet called down to the infirmary and ordered something be brought to the briefing room.

"General Hammond, we need to start asking questions of this person now," said Kinsey.

"You're not asking my daughter anything," I said vehemently, inwardly enjoying the look on his face when he realized I'd called Jessie my daughter. "She's sick and she's not up to answering anything right now."

"We need to know what she knows," said someone coming in the door.

I turned and looked at Jacob. "Jacob, she's burning up and she's got a really bad cold. She's not up to this!"

"I'm sorry, guys. They won't believe me," he said. He leaned over and kissed Jessie's forehead. "Hey, baby. You feeling ok?"

"No," she said softly. For her to admit being sick, it wasn't good. She closed her eyes and started coughing again. After this fit was over, she was in tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked rubbing her back.

"Everything hurts now," she said, scrunching her eyes closed.

"Like what, Jessie?" asked Janet.

"My throat, my chest, and my back."

"It's from the coughing," said Janet, just as a knock interrupted her.

"Come," said General Hammond.

A nurse opened the door. "Sir, I was told to bring this medicine up for Jessie."

He nodded and Janet got up to get the medicine. Shutting the door, she turned back to Jessie. "Here. This is a little bit stronger than what you probably took."

She shook her head. "That stuff's nastier than what dad gave me," she said coughing again.

"Take it, Sunshine. It may taste nasty, but it'll help you get better," I said, kissing the side of her head.

She frowned but opened her mouth for the medicine. Sure enough, as soon as it was down, she gagged. Janet handed her some pills and a glass of water.

"They'll get rid of the fever," she said. "And help get rid of the cold."

"Why's she so sick, Dr. Fraiser?" asked General Hammond.

"Her immune system took a beating from that poison they injected her with," said Janet. "She's lucky it's not worse than it is."

"Jessie?" I wanted to tell them about her running away.

She didn't say anything. I looked down, maneuvering her to where I could her face. I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. She'd fallen asleep.

"Jack?"

_(Sam, I think we should tell them about her running away)_

_(I don't know Jack.)_

_(They're wondering why she's so sick, Sam. They know that after what happened, we wouldn't let her out of our sight)_

Sam took a deep breath. _(Alright, Jack)_

"Sir, the reason she's so sick is she ran away last night…around midnight. We found her about 4:00 this morning a few blocks from the house."

"It was 8° at 4:00 this morning!"

"I know, sir."

"Why did she run away, Jack?" asked Jacob.

"She thought we were mad at her because she wouldn't ask for our help when she had to get up, go to the bathroom, things like that."

"Damn," said General Hammond.

"I know."

"If you don't mind!" said Kinsey, loudly.

Jessie woke up with a start. "Dad?"

"It's ok, baby. I'm here," I said, holding her tight.

"I wanna go home," she said sleepily.

"I know baby." I looked at General Hammond. "Can we _please _get on with this?"

He nodded, realizing Jessie was sicker than we thought. "Get on with it," he told Kinsey.

Jacob introduced the newcomer to us. "Jack, Sam, Jessie…this is Malek. Malek, this is my daughter, Sam; my son-in-law, Jack; and granddaughter, Jessie."

"I am very pleased to meet you, Jessie," said Malek.

She looked at him and smiled sleepily. Then Martouf and Freya walked in. Jessie whimpered in fright.

"They can't hurt you, honey," whispered Sam.

_(I wanna go home)_

"I know, baby. We will," I said, softly.

"Let's get on with this," said General Hammond.

"This is Tegar, Marka, and Bredda," said Jacob, introducing the other three Tok'ra.

They nodded at us. "How do you know that Martouf and Freya are now working for the Goa'uld?" asked Tegar.

Jessie shivered and I tucked the blanket tighter around her. "I read their symbiotes," she said softly.

"How did you do this?" asked Marka.

"I don't know. I just could."

"Can you read mine?" asked Tegar.

"Yes," she said.

"What is he thinking now?"

"That I'm lying. That he doesn't really like the world of the Tauri, and that I'm a freak," she said with a soft cry.

The other Tok'ra looked at him. "Well?" asked Malek.

"She is correct," he said with awe in his voice.

"You called my daughter a freak?" I asked, venom in my voice.

"No," he said quickly. "My symbiote is freaked out that your daughter could do this to one of us."

"Do what?" asked Sam.

"Read one of us easily. No one has ever been able to do that."

"Do you believe her?"

"Not necessarily," said Bredda. "There are a few other questions we have."

"Then ask them," I said angrily. "My daughter is really sick and wants to go home."

"Who are the Goa'ulds that they work for?"

"Morrigan and Ba'al," said Jessie.

"How did this happen?"

"They were both captured at different times," she said. "Their symbiotes were replaced with true Goa'uld."

"What of Anise and Lantesh?"

"They're dead," she said softly. She finally looked up at them. "You have to believe me!"

"Why?"

"What about the poison they gave her?"

"What poison?" asked Tegar.

"They injected Jessie with a poison only known to Tok'ra. It was in a diluted form but we managed to find a cure for the alternated form before it was too late," said Selmak.

"Take those two in custody," said Malek. "We believe you Jessie. And we apologize for the pain that these two traitors have caused you."

We watched in amazement as the two former Tok'ra were taken out in some sort of bind to keep them under control. Malek turned to Jacob. "Do you have the results of this poison? Many of our operatives have died mysteriously and it is quite possible that this new strain may have been the cause."

"The notes are in my lab, dad," said Sam.

"Follow me," said Jacob to Malek.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we go home now?" she asked softly, sleepily.

I looked at General Hammond. He started to say something but was interrupted by Kinsey.

"I have a few questions for this…child," he said.

"Senator Kinsey. As you can see, Jessie is very sick at the moment and is not up to answering any of your questions," said General Hammond.

Kinsey ignored General Hammond. "What I want to know is how can she do this?"

"Do what?" asked Sam, reaching for Jessie's hand.

"Hear what a symbiote thinks?"

"She's genetically enhanced," said Janet. "By the Asgard."

"Hang on," said Kinsey. "She's calling you" he pointed at me "'dad'. And she's calling you" he pointed at Sam "'mom'."

"Yeah, so?" I asked.

"She's too old to be your daughter," he said. Then his eyes lit up. "She's adopted isn't she?"

I got angry. "No. She's _not _adopted. She's my daughter…biologically. And Sam's."

"What? Is she a clone?"

"General Hammond! Please!" said Sam.

Jessie had tears in her eyes. _(It's ok, Sunshine)_

_(He reminds me of Simmons)_

I tensed. We never could prove that Simmons and Shanahan were the ones who'd shot Jessie. Therefore, they were both still out there…planning and plotting against my family. One of these days, they _will _pay for what they've done to my family.

"Take Jessie home, Jack," said General Hammond. "Take her home and take care of her."

"Thank you, sir," I said, standing with Jessie in my arms.

"Just a minute, Colonel," said Kinsey, standing and reaching for Jessie. "I'm not finished here."

"Yes, you are," I said, handing Jessie's weak body to Sam. I hauled off and decked the son-of-a-bitch.

He fell back in his chair, blood running from a cut on his lip. "You stay the hell away from my family," I said angrily.

"Dad!" said Jessie softly. She held her hand out. I realized my knuckles were bleeding.

"It's ok, Sunshine. They're just a little sore," I said.

She shook her head weakly and continued to hold out her hand. When it started trembling, I took her hand in mine. She held her other hand over mine and healed the wound. She coughed softly and closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

I felt her face and knew she was breathing. She was so weak that after healing me, she'd fallen asleep!

"You'll pay for that, O'Neill!" said Kinsey. "I'll have you up on charges so fast…"

General Hammond interrupted him. "Get off my base," he ordered.

"Excuse me?" said Kinsey.

"You heard me. Get off my base. Only an order from the President himself will allow you back onto this base."

"You'll pay for this, General."

He angrily left the room. I turned to General Hammond. "Thanks."

He nodded. "Just get her home, Jack. And as of now, SG-1 is on stand-down until she gets better."

"Yes, sir," I said, gently taking Jessie from Sam. We walked out of the mountain and took off for home.

I put Jessie back to bed with a firm order for her to stay there until she was better. A few days later, her fever broke and she began to get better. Landon would bring her homework to her. She'd do it and send it back to school with him. Everything was fine. Then all hell broke loose.


	4. Memories

_My POV_

Mom and dad returned from P3R-118 and were a little weirded out. They didn't know who they were on that planet. Apparently, some idiot gave them something called a memory stamp. Mom and dad were "Jonah" and "Thera" on that planet. They didn't remember their military careers. The worst thing was they didn't remember me. Aunt Janet gave them my file and they read about me, but they didn't know me. They remembered each other. They knew they were married (because of the marriage license and their wedding rings). But, they still didn't remember me.

They were home, but they weren't my parents anymore. They were Jack and Sam again. I was slowly dying inside. I'd started having nightmares again. One night I woke up screaming for mom.

I realized what I was saying and stopped crying out. But, they'd heard me and came running into my room.

"Jessie, are you ok?" asked mom.

"I'm fine, Sam," I said, unable to control the trembling in my voice. "It was just a nightmare." I was shaking uncontrollably, gasping for breath, and huddling in my bed. They started to come closer. I held my hand up. "Please don't."

"Jessie…" began dad.

I swallowed the lump in my throat to keep from bawling like a baby. "I'm fine, Jack."

They stared at me for a long time. I could see they were trying to remember, but in the end, there was no recognition whatsoever. Finally, they went back to their room. I cried myself to sleep. For three weeks, I cried myself to sleep. It didn't seem to be getting any better. I couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I picked up the ringing phone. "O'Neill," I said.

"Mr. O'Neill. This is Headmaster Wallace at Stevenson's Academy. Would it be possible for you and your wife to come to the school for a meeting regarding your daughter?"

"What time?" We weren't due back at the base for another three hours.

"Now would be good."

"We'll be right there." I hung up the phone and turned to Sam. We'd gotten most of our memories back…except for the ones that pertained to Jessie.

"That was the school. They need us there for some kind of meeting," I told her.

"Ok. Is…is Jessie ok?" she asked softly.

"I don't know. Have you remembered anything else?" I asked her.

She shook her head and turned away from me. "No…and it's killing me, Jack. I remember everything up until two years ago. Jessie cries herself to sleep every night because we can't remember her. She's only twelve years old. It's too much for her to take."

She turned to me with tears in her eyes. "She's our daughter, Jack. Why can't we remember her? We remember each other, General Hammond, Teal'c, Daniel, and Janet…why not her?"

I took her in my arms. "My guess is it has something to do with the fact that 'technically' she hasn't been born yet." I held her for a few minutes. I kissed her softly and then let her go. "Come on. The headmaster is waiting for us."

We drove in silence to the school. I think both of us were thinking about Jessie. We knew we cared for her very much. We just couldn't remember anything about her. Her face was familiar to us, but that was it. It was slowly killing me inside that I couldn't remember my own daughter.

When we got to the school, we found Jessie sitting outside the headmaster's office, looking small, angry, and frightened.

"Jessie?" She looked up at me and then looked back down.

Sam sat down beside her. "Honey, what's wrong?" She started to put her arm around Jessie.

Jessie flinched away. "Please, don't touch me," she said softly.

I sat down on the other side of her and tried to touch her. She got up and walked across the hallway to another seat. The door opened and the secretary stepped out.

"The headmaster will see you now," she said.

Jessie looked up at me with tears in her eyes. Giving her one last look that I knew was full of longing and pain, we turned and went into the office.

"Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill. Please have a seat," he said.

We took the seats in front of him. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Jessie is a bright girl," he began. We nodded. We knew that. "However, in the last three weeks, there have been…shall we say…discipline problems concerning your daughter."

"What do you mean 'discipline problems'?" asked Sam.

"She has been skipping school, disrespectful to teachers, acting out in general. She has been in my office more in the last three weeks than almost any other student. Today, she started a fight with an upperclassman. She gave her a black eye and a bloody nose before the fight was broken up."

"What?" I asked, surprised. From what we could tell, Jessie was a good kid.

"I'm not sure what is going on, Colonel. But, I have no choice but to suspend her for five days. After that five days is up, she will be placed on a probation of sorts for a period of one month. After that time, if there are no further infractions, she will be allowed to return to the softball and track teams. However, if this continues, she will be expelled."

"Yes, sir. Thank you," I said, standing and shaking the headmaster's hand. Sam did the same and we left his office. Jessie was still sitting in the same spot.

She looked up when we walked out and quickly looked back down. But, in that split second before she turned her face from us, I saw pain and loneliness embedded in her eyes…her soul. She was hurting beyond measure because we could not remember her.

I reached over and touched her arm. She jerked away from me. "Don't touch me, _Jack_," she hissed, putting the emphasis on my name.

She turned away from us and began to walk out the building. I took Sam's hand and we followed her silently. "Jessie!"

She stopped walking and saw her friend Landon walking towards her. "Hey. Are you still coming over tonight to study for the mid-terms?"

"No, she is not," I said before she could answer. They both turned towards us. "She's grounded for the next two weeks. No tv, no phone, no computer."

She started to say something, but Sam cut her off. "Come on, Jessie. Say goodbye to Landon."

She ignored us. "Bye Landon," she whispered and kissed him on the cheek. He looked confused.

"Bye, Jessie."

We got in the truck and started towards home. We tried to talk to her on the way, but she ignored us.

"You had no right to do that," she said softly.

"Do what?" asked Sam, turning to face her.

"To ground me. You had no right to tell Landon I was grounded." I could hear the anger in her quiet voice. The anger and the pain.

"We had every right," I said. "We're your parents."

"No, you're not!" she yelled. "Jack and Sam _were _my parents. You two don't even know me!"

"Jessie…"

"Go to hell," she said and orbed out.

"Jessie!" we both screamed. Sam grabbed my cell phone and called the base. "Janet? It's Sam. Is Jessie there?" I saw Sam visibly relax. "Keep her there, ok?" She listened. "Shit! Do you know where she could've gone? Alright. Tell General Hammond."

She hung up the cell phone. "She was there, but when she realized that Janet was talking to me, she orbed out," said Sam with a sob.

"Easy, baby," I said pulling her close to me. "We'll find her. We _have _to find her." I slammed on the brakes at a red light. Suddenly, my head started pounding…sharp, angry pains running through my head. I could barely keep my eyes open because of the pain. I looked over at Sam and realized she, too, was having pains. That's when I realized I was getting my memories of my daughter back.

"Sam?" I said, once the pain had cleared.

She started to sob. "God, Jack! They stole our memories of her! How could we let that happen?"

"You remember?"

"Yeah…her birth, when we lost her, when we found her…everything," she said as I held her. When she'd composed herself, she said, "What're we gonna do?"

"We have to find her," I said.

_(Daddy!)_

_(Jessie? Honey, where are you?)_

I called out to her with my mind as I had hundreds of times. But, this time, there was no answer. I felt her panic and her pain…then nothing, but a red haze. We contacted the SGC and General Hammond sent out several search parties. Sam and I drove around town for hours looking for her, calling out to her. We went to her friends' houses and they hadn't seen her.

We were on our way back to the house when my cell phone rang. "O'Neill."

"O'Neill." It was Teal'c. "We have found Jessie. You need to come to the academy hospital emergency room immediately." With that, he hung up the phone.

Something in his voice caused my heart to stop. "Jack?"

"That was Teal'c. He found her. They're at the hospital," I said in a trembling voice.

"Oh God!"

We drove quickly to the hospital and left the truck running. Daniel was waiting for us outside. "Daniel, go park the truck," I said, trying to run past him.

"Jack…wait," he said.

"Daniel," I growled.

"Jack…it's bad."

"What happened?" asked Sam, grabbing my hand for support.

"As far as we can tell, it was a hit and run," he said.

"What?" I gasped out.

"She was found outside of Colorado Springs," he began when Janet ran out of the e.r. doors.

"Doc?"

"Come with me," she said softly.

We blindly followed her as Daniel went to move the truck. "How bad is it, Janet?" asked Sam.

"Both legs are broken, as are four of her ribs. One of her lungs has collapsed. Her right arm is also broken. She's lost a lot of blood and there's swelling around her brain stem."

"What's that mean, doc?" I asked.

"Colonel…Sam. There's a strong possibility that Jessie may be paralyzed from this." Janet took a deep breath. "There's a lot of internal bleeding and she's in surgery now. It's gonna be a long night guys. You might want to go on home and get some sleep."

"We're _not _leaving. She's our daughter, Janet. We can't leave her," said Sam starting to cry.

"You remember everything now?" asked Janet, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes," I said, softly, trying to fight the overwhelming pain building inside.

"Look. I'm gonna get you a room here. You need to get some sleep."

"Janet, there is no way we're gonna sleep with our daughter possibly dying," said Sam vehemently.

She nodded. "I'm gonna get back in the o.r. and see if there's anything I can do. I'm so sorry guys."

As soon as she left, I let my tears fall. I held Sam in my arms and we both cried for a very long time. I knew Daniel and Teal'c had entered the room, but at that moment, we didn't care. We fell into a grief induced sleep. Hours later, Janet woke us up.

"Sam…Jack."

We sat up. "How…how is she?"

"She's alive," said Janet. "But, she's very critical guys. Her injuries were extensive and she lost a lot of blood. But, that was replenished thanks to you two. We had to remove her appendix and pancreas because of the damage."

We just looked at her. "When she was found, you gave blood. You give blood once a month remember?"

"Oh, yeah," I said.

"Can we see her?" asked Sam.

"For a minute. She's in ICU, so they probably won't let you stay with her."

We nodded. We'd burn that bridge when we came to it. The four of us followed Janet into the hallway and into the ICU. Sam started crying again when we saw our daughter's broken body lying in that room. Tubes of all sizes were the only things that were keeping her alive – heart monitor, breathing machine – you name it, she was hooked to it.

Sam collapsed in my arms. "Janet…please. We have to get in there," I said choking back a sob of my own.

She nodded. "I'll see what I can do." She turned away, took Daniel by the hand and walked away.

"Jack…" began Sam. "We can't lose her!"

"I know, baby," I said. "We won't." I buried my head in her neck and held on to her for dear life.

A few minutes later, Janet and Daniel returned. "They agreed that you would be able to stay here. As soon as she's stabilized, I'm having her moved to the base infirmary."

"Thank you," whispered Sam.

We turned and went into the room. Jessie was lying there so still, the only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the breathing machine and beeping of the heart monitor. We finally remembered our daughter and now there was a chance we'd lose her forever.

* * *

_Sam's POV_

A week later, Jessie had stabilized enough to be moved to the infirmary. She hadn't come out of the coma, but she was stabilized. I didn't know what I was going to do if she never woke up. We called the school and officially withdrew her. There was no way she would be able to finish the year out. She had a lot of friends that sent cards, gifts, and called to see if there was any change. I've never been this scared. My daughter was dying because of us. Because we didn't remember her, she ran away. Because she ran away, someone ran her over. There were no suspects as to who had hit her. No one had come forward with any information.

Now, two months later, it was down to me and Jack. He was taking it harder than I. He blamed himself. He said if he would've just let the slavery on P3R-118, go unchallenged, then we wouldn't have been captured and memory stamped. We never would've forgotten Jessie and she would be fine. Nothing could change his mind about it.

We continued to go on missions only because of the order from the President. He knew Jessie was in a coma. We tried to be home every night, just so we could be close to her. But, sometimes, we couldn't. We ended up in Siberia, chasing down our missing stargate. Then there was the whole time-loop thing. We met our clones. I got invaded by an alien entity. Normal everyday SG-1 stuff.

We moved on the base the entire time she was in the infirmary. Neither one of us could stand being away from Jessie for any length of time. The pain was almost physical it was so intense. I didn't know how much longer I could handle not being able to look into those baby blue eyes. After a month of missions, General Hammond gave us some time off.

I'd left Jack asleep to go take a shower…a long hot shower. When I returned to the bedroom, Jack was sitting up, waiting for me. Something was wrong.

"Jack?"

He looked up and I saw utter desolation on his face and tears in his eyes. He was holding a picture of Jessie, his tears falling on the picture.

"Jack?" I swallowed hard. Something was wrong. "Jack, what is it?" I asked kneeling in front of him.

He took a shaky breath. "Kinsey. He wants to take her off life support," he said sobbing.

I wrapped my arms around him. "No," I said angrily.

"He…he…he said it's costing too much to keep her alive."

He put his arms around me and we held on to each other. He pulled me onto his lap and held me as we both cried.

_ Colonel O'Neill and Major O'Neill to the infirmary. I repeat. Colonel O'Neill and Major O'Neill to the infirmary _

We took off at a run, both of us thinking the worse. When we arrive, we saw Teal'c holding a very irate Senator Robert Kinsey in a death grip.

"Let me go, Mr. Teal'c!"

"I do not think so," said Teal'c, his voice dripping with venom. "You tried to terminate the life support of Jessie O'Neill. That will _not _be allowed."

"I'll fuckin' kill you!" yelled Jack, going after Kinsey.

I rushed over to Jessie's bed to make sure he hadn't unplugged anything. He hadn't…but something was different. I then realized that the heart monitor was speeding up. Jessie was waking up.

Looking over at my husband, I saw he was being restrained by both General Hammond and Daniel. He was struggling violently, trying to get to the man who'd decided to terminate our daughter's life.

I walked over to them, leaving Janet to monitor Jessie's life signs. "Jack, stop it!" I ordered softly. For a while, it looked like he wasn't going to listen to me. Finally, a moan from Jessie's bed broke through his angry haze.

"Sam?" He quit struggling and looked helplessly at me.

"It's over, Jack. She's waking up," I said. "He can't hurt her now."

"She's waking up?"

I turned to Janet. "She's waking up, right?"

Janet nodded. "Her vitals are becoming stronger and she's breathing on her own."

I turned back to Jack. "Jack?"

They let him go and he stumbled towards me. I took his hand and, shakily, we made our way over to Jessie's bed. "She's been coming out of it for about three hours," said Janet.

"Teal'c, get him out of here," said General Hammond.

Neither one of us noticed them leaving. But, we heard Kinsey's denial and objections to being handling so roughly. Served the bastard right for trying to kill my daughter.

We sat there for a few more hours, waiting…watching. She moaned again and we tightened our grips on her hands. I felt her return the grip weakly, but she _did _return the squeeze.

"Come on, Jessie. Open those baby blue eyes for daddy," said Jack, choking back a sob.

A few minutes later, she did open her eyes. "Jessie?"

She blinked several times to clear her vision. "Daddy?"

"I'm here, baby," he said.

"Mama?"

"I'm here too, honey," I said, tears falling down my face.

"What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Jack.

She closed her eyes and I could tell she was thinking. When she opened them, she jerked her hands away from ours. "Leave me alone, Jack," she said, her voice thick with tears.

"Jessie…" I began.

"Sam, please. Just leave me alone." She didn't believe that we remembered. I could see it in her eyes. She was so afraid and there didn't seem to be anything that we could do to ease her young mind.

"Sunshine…" began Jack.

"I said…" she stopped and her eyes went to Jack's face. "What?"

"What 'what'?" he said.

"What did you call me?" I saw a glimmer of hope enter her wide blue eyes.

"Sunshine," he said with a teary smile.

"You…you…" she broke off and took a deep breath. "You remember?"

I nodded. She started fighting us and shook her head weakly. "No! Aunt Janet told you that! You still don't remember me!" She started to cry weakly. "Oh God!" she cried out in pain as a sob wracked her body. Jack got behind her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her steady as she cried.

"We remember everything, honey," I said. "Your favorite subject is physics. We know your favorite sport is soccer. You're the pitcher on the school's softball team. You run eight to ten miles a day. You're the anchor leg of the relay team. Your two favorite movies are _The Lost Boys _and _Newsies_. You still sleep with the Air Force bear Jack and I bought you when we first found you. Your favorite food is pizza with only sausage and mushrooms."

"Everybody knows that!" she said, still trying to get away from him.

"Your biggest fear is being left alone," said Jack quietly. I looked at him and realized he was right. That was definitely her biggest fear. She'd been alone for so long and then suddenly, she wasn't alone anymore. She was so afraid that she would be alone again and that she would never find anyone to love her.

She stiffened in his arms and began to sob harder. It was almost as if her entire world was crashing down around her. And in a way it had. We'd been memory stamped and we'd forgotten her. But, now, we remembered her and we weren't going anywhere.

"Shh, baby. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," whispered Jack tearfully. He pulled me closer to them, being careful of her still-broken body. I wrapped my arms around her and she held on to us, crying until she couldn't cry anymore. She collapsed weakly against Jack.

Janet came running in. "What happened?"

"She's awake," I said with a smile. "She's finally awake." _And we're going to heal each other_ I added silently.

* * *

_My POV_

We were back. They remembered me and everything was going to be fine…we hoped. I still had a long way to go before I was fully recovered. After being in a coma for almost three months, I was weak…no muscle tone, couldn't walk without help. Hell, I could barely sit up without help. Two weeks after I woke up, I was strong enough to go home though.

It was early in the morning when I was finally released from my holding cell in the infirmary. The infirmary looked like a nursery…flowers, teddy bears, and cards everywhere.

"Jessie…wake up, Sunshine," whispered dad.

"Is it time to go home?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"Yeah, baby. It's time to go home," said mom.

I sat up weakly when Aunt Janet, Uncle Daniel, and Teal'c came in. "Can I go home now?" I asked softly.

"I'm only releasing you with certain conditions," she said after giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"What kind of conditions, Janet?" asked mom, taking my hand in hers.

"She is to be here at 0800 every morning for physical therapy. No junk food. You need to eat healthy for a while. You will not…and I repeat…_not _stretch yourself beyond what I believe is a tolerable pain. You will take your medications everyday. Do I make myself _clear_?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a small smile.

"Alright. Sam, here're her prescriptions," she said handing mom a couple pieces of paper. "I want you to drink plenty of water, milk, and juice…no soda."

"She doesn't drink much soda anyway," said dad, pushing my hair out of my eyes. I grinned sleepily at him. He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "You still sleepy, Sunshine?"

"Hmm mmm," I said softly, giving them another doped up, sleepy smile.

"Let's get you home," said mom, once again brushing my hair out of my eyes.

Dad picked me up and carried me out of the mountain. I was asleep before we even got out of the infirmary. When I woke up it was around 1:00. Whatever Aunt Janet had given me, had completely knocked me out.

_(Mama?)_

_(I'm here.)_

_(I…uh…uh)_

_(Need to go to the bathroom?)_

_(Uh huh.)_

_(Be right there.)_ I could actually hear the joy in her thoughts. I'd finally asked for help, even it was only for something simple like having to go to the bathroom…even if I hadn't actually said it.

A minute later, she came in my room with a smile. I smiled sheepishly. "I'm trying," I said softly.

"I know you are, baby. And that's all that matters," she said, easily lifting me from the bed and carrying me to my bathroom. She left me alone to do what I had to do. I got my shorts pulled up.

_(Mom?)_

_(You done?)_

_(Uh…yeah)_

She came in and caught me blushing. It was so freaking embarrassing to have to be helped to the bathroom. But, I think she understood. She helped me wash my hands and get dressed. As weak as I was, I didn't know how I was going to make it through physical therapy with Aunt Janet.

Mom helped me get downstairs. They wanted me to stay in the guest bedroom on the first floor until I was able to completely walk by myself. I just wanted to be in my own bed, in my own room. I think they understood. After not having my parents for a while, I wanted to be somewhere I knew…somewhere I was safe.

Dad was waiting for us downstairs. "Dad?"

He looked up. "Hey, Sunshine." He jumped up and took me from mom. "How are you feeling?"

"Ok, I guess," I said softly.

He kissed my forehead and sat me down on the couch. "You hungry?"

"A little."

"Chicken noodle soup?"

"Salad?" I asked hopefully. I wanted something crunchy.

"You think your stomach can handle it?" asked mom worriedly.

"I don't know. But, I'm tired of living off of soup. I want something crunchy," I said with a tired giggle.

That caused them both to smile. "Salad it is," said dad. He looked at mom. "Umm…honey, you're better at making things like that than me."

She laughed. "Alright," she said, kissing him and then me on the forehead. "Be right back.

Dad sat down. "How're your legs?"

"Sore," I said with a grimace. Cramps had woken me up twice, but I kept biting my pillow to keep from screaming.

"Well, after being in casts and braces for three months, they're a little…"

"Shriveled?" I asked with a grin.

He chuckled. "Just until the physical therapy starts."

"Then they'll be shriveled _and_ painful."

"Hush, you," he said and started tickling me.

"Dad!"

He continued to tickle me until mom came back with my lunch/breakfast. He stopped when I couldn't catch my breath.

"Jack, let her breathe," said mom.

"Yes, dear."

I'd really missed this. The joking, the familiarity between the three of us. Mom handed the salad and a glass of water with lemon. I didn't realize until I started eating that I had tears in my eyes and mom said something.

"Honey, you ok?"

"Hmm?" I said, not looking up.

"Why're you crying?" she asked softly.

"Just thinking," I said, taking a bite of my salad.

"Bout what?" asked dad.

"How much I missed this," I said softly.

"I know what you mean," said mom, putting her arm around my shoulders.

I laid my head on her shoulder. "It's just that when you came back from that planet, I never thought I'd get my parents back. I thought you'd never remember me," I said crying softly.

"I know, baby. We thought the same thing. No matter how hard we tried, the memories wouldn't come."

Dad sat down on the couch beside me. "What really hurt was we could hear you crying every night and no matter how much we wanted to go to you…to comfort you…it seemed you didn't want us too."

Mom took the salad and sat it on the coffee table. She pulled me into her arms and held me as I cried. "I…I wanted you too. But, I wanted my mom and dad. I wanted someone who knew who I was."

"I know, Sunshine. I know," said dad, wrapping his arms around both of us. A few minutes later, my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I had to finish my lunch.

"You ok, honey?" asked mom.

"I am now," I said.

"Good," she said, kissing my temple. "Now," she reached for the salad. "Eat."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, digging in.

When it was gone, dad got me a small, infinitesimal piece of chocolate cake. "Dad! That's not even a mouthful," I complained.

"That's all you're getting for now," said mom. "Once your stomach gets used to solid food again, then we'll get you a cake of your own."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," I said, eating my bite of cake. They both laughed.

"Wanna watch tv?" asked dad.

"Nah."

"Whatcha wanna do?"

"Just sit here," I said, snuggling in mom's embrace.

"We can do that," said dad, kissing the top of my head.

After a few minutes of silence, a knock on the door broke through our thoughts.

"For cryin' out loud," mumbled dad. "I'll get it."

He stood and walked to the door. "By the way, Landon called a couple of hours ago. He wants to see you."

"In a couple of days, maybe," I said softly. She was slowly putting me back to sleep by running her fingers through my hair.

We heard dad arguing with someone. "Look. She just got out of the hospital today. She's not up to answering any of your questions!"

"Stay here, honey," said mom, getting up and walking towards dad.

I listened to the argument for a few seconds before I couldn't take it anymore. I could hear someone yelling at mom and dad and couldn't take it. I stood and fell back to the couch. "Damn it!"

Holding on to the couch, I stood and grabbed the wall for support. Slowly and painfully, I made my way to the door. Once I could see them, I let go of the wall.

"Mama," I said, breathing heavily. Hell, I hadn't been out of a bed in four months.

She and dad whipped around. "Jessie! I thought I told you to stay put," she said, rushing towards me as my legs gave out. She picked me up and carried me back into the living room.

Dad sat down and she sat me on his lap. "Honey, why did you get up?"

"I…I couldn't stand hearing them yell at you over me," I said softly, silent tears of misery slid down my face.

"Miss O'Neill, we have some questions to ask you," said a man's voice as mom sat down beside us.

I looked up and saw two policemen standing there. Dad tensed. "What'd I just say? She's _not _up to answering any of your damned questions."

I put my hand on his arm. "It's ok, daddy." I hadn't told anyone what happened to me that night.

"Jessie, you need to rest," said mom.

"I just wanna get this over with," I said tiredly.

"Are you sure, Sunshine?" asked dad, stroking the back of my head where it rest on his shoulder. I nodded. "Alright. But, if she gets upset in _any _way, I _will _throw you out of my house." He turned me to face them and I laid my head back on his shoulder. Mom reached over and took my hand in hers.

They agreed and sat down in the chairs across from us. "Where were you on the night of March 15th?"

"I ran away," I whispered.

"Excuse me? We didn't hear that," said one of the detectives.

"I ran away," I said louder.

"Why?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked mom.

"We need the information for the report," said the other detective, giving me a funny look.

"That _really_ didn't answer my question," said mom.

"I got in some trouble at school and couldn't face my parents. I made it out to the edge of town and a woman picked me up. She asked me my name. When I told her, she asked me who my parents were. I told her and she called me a liar and threw me out of the car." I said all of this in one breath – very, very quickly.

Dad tightened his grip on me. I buried my head in his shoulder.

"Do you know why someone would do that?"

"No," I said softly, as a tear slid down my face.

"Do you know who it was?"

"No. She didn't tell me her name." There went another tear.

"Ok, that's it," said dad. "I told you if you upset her, you would have to leave. Now, get out of my house."

"Mr. O'Neill…" began one of the cops.

"Out!" he yelled in his best Colonel voice. They both jumped.

"We'll be in touch," said the detective, motioning for his partner to follow him.

"I remember you," I said to him.

"Excuse me?"

"You're the one who came here last year," I said softly.

"I was," he said. "I was the one who ended up shooting the bastard that…" he trailed off. He cleared his throat. "No child should ever have to go through what you went through," he said quietly.

"Thank you," said dad.

"You're welcome. We'll be in touch if we find out anything," he said, walking out the door.

I started to sob as soon as the door was shut. His presence brought back memories I didn't want to remember. That was the night I tried to boil myself…the night that I finally told mom and dad everything…the night before I was shot…the night before I died.

Dad held me tightly as I cried. I hurt so badly. For some reason, whoever had thrown me out of the car that night, hated me because of who I was. _She _knew me.


	5. Lies

_My POV_

After a couple of weeks of physical therapy – four hours a day, five days a week – I was getting stronger. I still wasn't close to what I'd been, but I was getting there. And to top it off, since I was poisoned by those to blundering idiots, I'd been getting migraines! Sheesh!

They'd found a hair and some skin under my fingernails that weren't mine. So far, they didn't have any matches in the police database or in the FBI database. I didn't tell anyone, but I lived in fear that whoever had done this was going to try again.

One night, after a grueling session that morning, I wanted to go for a run. Me, mom, and dad decided to run the path at the park. Mom and dad didn't think I was up to it, but I had to do something…anything.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Sunshine?" asked dad, as I sat on the ground and he helped me stretch my legs. I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm tired of just laying there and working my legs. I wanna move," I said.

"Ok. But, if you start hurting, we stop," said mom. "Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a sigh.

She leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I just want you to be safe, honey."

"I know, mama." I smiled at her as she pushed my hair out of my eyes.

We took off at a slow jog. Although I'd promised everyone I wouldn't push myself too hard, I did anyway. During physical therapy, I'd block the pain from my mind and push myself until I was exhausted. I knew they wanted me to take my time, to heal slowly. But, I was aggravated at how slow they wanted me to go. So, I pushed myself to the limits of my endurance.

About half a mile into the run, I began to feel the burn in my legs, especially my left leg. I knew they could tell I was tiring, but they didn't say anything. They knew how stubborn I was. I'd promised them we'd only run a mile today, so I thought I'd be ok. Boy was I wrong.

We were almost to the truck when I felt my left knee pop and, with a cry of pain, I hit the ground. Dad picked me up and carried me over to a bench on the side of the path.

As soon as he sat down, he leaned me forward, because I was having trouble breathing. "Breath, baby. Breathe."

I leaned into mom. "It hurts too much!"

"I know, baby," she said, kissing the top of my head as dad continued to rub my back.

"God, I hate this!" I said.

"I know, honey," said mom. "You just pushed yourself too hard. You had four hours of physical therapy this morning and then you wanted to run. It's just too much, too soon."

"You're not _Wonder Woman_," said dad. "_Super Girl_, maybe. But not _Wonder Woman_."

I giggled, but then a cramp shut me up quickly and I fell off dad's lap. "Dad!"

He sat down behind me, cradling my head in his lap. I couldn't straighten my leg.

"Mama!" I gasped out. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming from the unbearable pain in my legs.

"I'm here, honey." Mom straightened out my leg and massaged it like Aunt Janet had shown her and dad.

"Jack?" A woman's voice came from behind us.

Dad looked up. "Sara," he said plainly and looked back at me as he stroked my hair.

"How've you been?" she asked.

"Right now, not so good," he said.

A wave of nausea swept over me and I quickly pushed away from them. I could feel them trying to hold me back, but I crawled as fast as I could over to the grass and violently got sick. When I'd finished, I was shaking so hard, I could feel my teeth rattling. I rolled over on my back, away from the vomit, thinking the worst had passed. Then another cramp hit.

"Mama!"

"Shh," she said, stretching my leg out again. Dad helped me rinse my mouth out with his water bottle and put my head back in his lap.

"Dad, it really hurts!"

"I know, Sunshine. I know," he said, pushing my sweaty hair out of my eyes. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Dad?" said Sara with a strange…hell, I don't know how to describe what it was I heard in her voice.

He looked back up at Sara. "What?"

"She called you 'dad'."

"Yeah. Sara, this is my wife, Sam, and my daughter, Jessie," he said.

"You remarried," she stated.

"Yeah. Almost a year ago."

Another cramp hit and I couldn't stop the cry of pain from escaping. "Dad!" I cried weakly. I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Shh, baby. I'm here," he said, sitting me up and wrapping his arms around me, as mom began to massage my leg again.

"What happened to her?"

He rolled his eyes. "She was in an accident about four months ago," he said.

_It wasn't an accident. It was deliberate._

"What?"

"Yeah. When they find who it was, they're dead."

"Really?" There was something in her voice that I didn't like. Through my haze of pain, I could sense something.

_(She knows something.)_

Dad kissed the top of my head. _(How do you know?)_

_(I read her.)_

Another cramp hit, but mom massaged it out quickly. Dad picked me up and cradled me close to his body.

"Let's get you home, baby," he said as he started carrying me towards the truck.

"Jack, I really need to talk to you," said Sara.

Mom got in and dad sat me on her lap. "Sara, I don't have time for this. My daughter is in pain and nothing you could say could be more important than getting her home and taking care of her."

"But…"

Another wave of nausea took over and I leaned out the door and threw up again. "Shit!" said dad as he jumped back. I barely missed him.

"Sorry dad," I muttered as he handed me the water bottle again.

"It's ok, honey," he said pushing my hair out of my eyes again.

"Jack…"

"Damn it Sara! Leave us alone!" he yelled, jumping in the driver's seat. We took off for home, actually getting there in half the time it took us to get to the park.

Almost as soon as we got there, mom made me shower. It took a lot of strength, but I managed to shower and wash my hair. I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. Mom had other ideas.

When I made it downstairs, I realized she and dad were on the back porch. I weakly stumbled my way out there.

"Hey, Sunshine. Feeling any better?" asked dad as he reached out for me, steadying me on my feet.

"A little," I said. "What's going on?"

"You're gonna soak for a while to work out those tense muscles," said mom as dad picked me up and sat me in the hot tub.

"Hot…hot…hot," I said, squirming a little. Then the heat penetrated my sore muscles and I relaxed. "Ahhhhh…"

They both laughed. "You hungry?"

"Uh…no. Don't even mention food," I said. "My stomach's still queasy."

Dad kissed me on top of the forehead. "Crackers and milk?" he asked.

"Ok."

Mom sat down while dad went to get my "dinner".

"Mama?"

"Yeah honey?" she asked, stroking my hair out of my eyes.

"I think it was Sara who threw me out of the car," I said softly.

"What?" she asked. "Are you sure?"

"No. But, if it wasn't her, she knows who did it. She already knew about you and me," I said.

"How did she know about you and your mom?" asked dad, coming back out. He handed me the crackers, milk, and some pain pills. I took those first.

"I don't know," I said softly. "It's ok if you don't believe me," I said closing my eyes with a resigned sigh.

"Hey, now. When have we _not _believed you?" he asked.

"But, this is different," I said.

"How honey?"

"She's your ex-wife," I said.

"Jessie, look at me," said dad.

I opened my eyes and looked at him and mom. "If you say she knows something, then we believe you. You and your mom are the most important things in my life. Sara is my past. And if she had anything to do with you getting hurt, I'll kill her."

"I'm scared, dad," I said fighting back tears. "I'm scared she's gonna try again."

"I know, baby. I know. But, we won't let her." He kissed my forehead again. "Now, soak and rest. We'll be back in thirty minutes to check on you," he said.

I nodded and closed my eyes again, relishing the warmth of the water against my aching legs and back.

* * *

_Sam's POV_

We watched as Jessie relaxed then quietly made our way back into the house.

"Jack, what're we gonna do?"

"If it was Sara, I'll kill her Sam," he said angrily. "Do you know if they still have that hair and skin they found at the hospital?"

"Since it's still an open case, yeah," I said, getting two beers from the kitchen.

I sat down beside Jack on the couch and handed him one of the beers. "Thanks, honey."

He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head where it lay on his shoulder. We sat there quietly for about half an hour, then I went to check on Jessie. What I found, made me smile.

"Jack," I whispered.

"What?" he said jumping up from the couch and running up behind me. "What's wrong?"

"Shh…she's asleep," I whispered. She'd relaxed so much, she'd fallen asleep in the hot tub.

He kissed my cheek and walked over to her. He sat on the side of the tub and pushed her damp hair out of her eyes. He sat there for a few minutes, staring lovingly at our sleeping daughter. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Sam, hand me that towel."

I did and he lifted her out of the tub and into the towel. I wrapped it around her and he picked her up. He carried her upstairs to her room and sat her in a chair. He left the room as I got her into some dry shorts and a t-shirt before laying her in bed.

_(You can come back in now, Jack)_

He came back in and tucked her in. She immediately rolled on her side and wrapped her arms around her bear. I had to smile. She looked so young and innocent lying there. She was young. But, she was far from innocent. She's seen too much to ever be innocent again.

"Night, Sunshine," he whispered before kissing her cheek softly, chuckling when she wrinkled her nose in her sleep.

"Night, angel," I said before doing the same. I heard the doorbell ring downstairs and Jessie whimpered in her sleep. "I'll get it," I said. "Make sure she's ok."

"Ok," said Jack as I left the room.

The doorbell kept ringing and ringing. Whoever was on the other side was starting to get on my nerves. If they woke up my daughter, there would be hell to pay.

I answered the door with a "So help me, if you wake up…" I trailed off when I realized who was standing there. _Shit._

"Sara, now is not a good time."

"I need to speak with my husband," she said as she tried to walk in the door.

"_My _husband is getting _our _daughter to sleep," I said, blocking the door easily. Oh I was going to kill this bitch.

"How old is she?"

"She's thirteen," I said, getting aggravated with Jack's ex-wife.

"How long ago did you adopt her?"

"She's not adopted…"I began.

"Oh! I get it. You had her before you met my husband," she said with an evil grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Sara. Jack is married to me now. And no. Jessie is _our _biological daughter…mine and Jack's. Now…if you don't mind, I've got a hurt daughter to look in on."

I started to shut the door, but Sara stopped it with her foot. She stuck her head through and yelled, "Jack!"

He came running down the stairs. "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded. "Sara, what in the hell are you doing here? I told you before to leave us alone."

"This _woman_ won't let me in your house!" she said. "I need to talk to you!"

"My daughter is extremely sick, Sara. I think you should leave," he said angrily.

"Not until you talk to me!"

"Sam, call Daniel," he said.

"Jack…"

"Please, baby. I'll take care of this. Call Daniel and…Murray," he said, pulling me into his arms and kissing me soundly.

"Alright," I said, reaching for the phone.

"Come with me," said Jack, grabbing Sara by the arm and dragging her outside.

I picked up the phone and dialed Janet's number. "Fraiser."

"Janet, it's Sam. Is Daniel there?"

"Yeah, just a sec." I heard her say, "Honey, it's for you."

"Hello?"

"Daniel…listen. Jack's ex-wife is here and is causing some problems. He wants you and Teal'c to come by. Bring Janet too. Jessie's not feeling too hot. She keeps getting cramps in her legs and she's thrown up twice."

"We'll be right there," he said and hung up as Jack came back in.

"Jack?"

"She's gone. She wouldn't tell me what was going on, but I think Jessie was right. She knew things about the 'accident' that no one but the person who did this would know." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Why do you say that?"

He put his arms around me. "Just the way she acted and the way she talked."

"Do you think she's going to try to hurt Jessie again?"

"I don't know, babe. But, like I said. I'll do whatever I have to do in order to protect my family."

Just then, Daniel, Janet, and Teal'c showed up. "Where's Jessie?" asked Janet.

"She's asleep, but she's still in pain," said Jack.

He looked at me. _(Take Janet upstairs and check on Jessie. I'm gonna talk to Daniel and Teal'c)_

I nodded and he leaned over and kissed me. "Come on, Jan. She was in some serious pain earlier."

* * *

_Jack's POV_

I watched as my wife led Janet to Jessie's room.

"Jack, what's going on?" asked Daniel.

I sat down at the table and motioned for him and Teal'c to do the same. Once they had, I started talking.

"A little over an hour ago we went to the park because Jessie wanted to go for a run. We were halfway back to the truck when she started hurting…badly. She started to get sick when Sara showed up. She was acting strange. Anyway, we got Jessie home and into the hot tub." I chuckled. "She fell asleep in there. We'd just gotten her out of the hot tub and into bed when Sara showed up again and started yelling at Sam for not letting her in the house."

I took a deep breath. "Jessie seems to think that Sara's the one that threw her out of the car that night." I rubbed my hand over my face. "After the conversation I had with her, I think it's true."

"Why, Jack? Why would Sara do something like this?" asked Daniel.

"I don't know, Daniel. But, I'm planning on finding out."

A knock at the door broke us out of our conversation. Daniel went to get it as Teal'c and I headed for Jessie's room.

"Jack?" Something in Daniel's voice made me stop cold in my tracks.

"What?"

"Mr. Savage is here to talk to Jessie."

I walked back over to the door. "Mr. Savage," I said, holding my hand out.

"Mr. O'Neill. Is Jessie still awake?" he asked, ignoring my proffered hand.

"She'd better not be," I said. "She was in a lot of pain earlier and hopefully Janet gave her something to keep her asleep."

"Landon is gone. His real parents came for him yesterday. He left this for Jessie," he said, handing me an envelop. "Will you give it to her?" he asked indifferently.

"When she feels up to it," I said.

He turned and left, Daniel shutting the door behind him. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"I have no idea," I said, slipping the envelop in my back pocket. I met Sam coming down the stairs.

"Who was that?"

"Landon's dad. He said Landon's real parents came for him yesterday. He left a letter for Jessie." I saw Sam's eyes tear up. "How is she?"

"She's in so much pain, Jack," she said with a sob.

I pulled her into my arms and held her close. After four months in a coma, Jessie was so weak. We'd come way too close to losing her permanently. I buried my head in her neck and for a moment, allowed my tears to fall for the pain my only child was in. Only child.

"Shit!" I said.

"What? What is it?" asked Sam.

"I think I know why Sara did this," I said.

"Why?"

"Charlie. She blames me for Charlie's death. She thinks I stole her only child, so she thought she would do the same."

"Jack, it's not your fault," said Daniel.

"Everything I love dies, Daniel. How can it _not _be my fault?" I said vehemently.

"I'm still here, Jack," said Sam. "Jessie's still here. And we both need you so much," she added, putting her hands on my face, forcing me to look at her.

_(Dad?)_

_(I'm here, baby)_

_(Why're you so sad?)_

_(Don't worry about it)_

_(I love you dad)_

_(I love you too honey)_

_(Dad?)_

_(Hmm?)_

_(It wasn't your fault. _None _of this was your fault)_

_(But…)_

_(NO dad! It's not your fault! Not me…not Charlie…not Sara's actions)_

I knew Sam caught the conversation between us. "She's right, Jack," she said softly.

_(Daddy?)_

_(I'm here)_

_(I need you. Please don't leave me)_

A sob broke from my chest and I ran up the stairs into Jessie's room. She was laying there, eyes wide open, tears streaming down her face.

"Please don't leave me," she said through her tears. I could see the fear in her eyes at the thought of me leaving.

Janet moved out of the way and I laid down beside her, taking her small body in my arms. She started to sob. "Please, daddy. Please don't leave me alone again."

Sam crawled into bed with us. "Please don't leave me," murmured Jessie again.

I reached for Sam and brought her to us. "I'm not going anywhere, baby. I promise. I'm not going anywhere," I said choking on a sob.

The three of us cried for a long time, just holding on to each other. It took us a while to realize that the rest of SG-1 and Janet were still there. I left Sam and Jessie asleep in her bed and went to find them. They were sitting in the living room watching TV.

"I was wondering if you were ever coming out," said Daniel.

"How's Jessie?" asked Janet.

"She and Sam are asleep. What're you guys still doing here?" I asked with a yawn.

"We thought about what you said…you know…about Sara. We decided to stay here tonight so we could help you protect Jessie."

"Thanks guys. The guest rooms are actually already set up. So, if you wanna get some sleep…" I let the sentence trail off.

"Thanks, Jack," said Daniel.

"Night guys," I said, going into my room and changing into something to sleep in. I went back into Jessie's room and picked her up. "Sam…Sam…wake up, honey."

"What's wrong?" she asked sleepily.

"Nothing. Go change and come back to bed. The others are in the two guest rooms."

"Ok," she said yawning. She kissed Jessie on the forehead and left to get changed. I sat down on the bed and watched as my thirteen year old daughter toss and turn.

"No," she murmured. "Please…daddy. Remember…please."

"Shh, baby," I whispered. "I'm here." I leaned over and kissed her forehead, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

Sam came back dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. "Is she ok?"

"I don't know," I said. "She's dreaming."

"Daddy!" she screamed, waking herself up.

I took her in my arms. "Shh. I'm here, Jessie. I'm here."

"You were gone!"

"No, baby. I've been right here the whole time."

Janet, Daniel, and Teal'c ran it. "What happened?"

"Just a nightmare," said Sam, stroking Jessie's back. She was trembling and sobbing so hard that it seemed she would shake herself apart.

"You sure?" asked Daniel.

"Yes, Daniel. _We'll _take care of it," I said, hinting with my eyes for them to leave the room.

They left us alone, shutting the door behind them. Jessie was still in tears, still shaking uncontrollably. She cried herself hoarse. She finally started to calm down as Sam and I rocked her slowly.

My shirt was thoroughly soaked with her tears, but I wasn't concerned. The only thing that mattered to me at that moment was Jessie knew that I was there and that I wasn't going anywhere.

"Shhh baby. You're gonna make yourself sick," said Sam, continuing to stroke her hair.

"I…I…" she hiccupped. "I remember."

"Remember what, honey?"

"It was Sara! She threw me out of the car!"

"I'll kill her!" I exclaimed. "I'll fuckin' kill her!"

Jessie started to sob again, harder than before. Sure enough, she soon jumped up and ran to her bathroom, barely making it before she was violently sick.

Both Sam and I ran after her. I held her hair as Sam went to get Janet. "Easy, baby," I said as she vomited again.

She finally finished and I leaned her against the tub. She was shivering and tears were running down her face again. I got her a glass of water to rinse out her mouth as Sam came back with Janet.

Jessie rinsed her mouth out and spit in the toilet. "Just what I wanted," I said.

"What?" asked Sam as I picked Jessie up off the floor.

"To worship the porcelain god," she said with a grimace. "Ouch."

"What's wrong, honey?" I asked as I laid her on her bed.

"Migraine," she said, rubbing her temples furiously.

* * *

_My POV_

Janet went back to the guest room and got her bag. "Here. This arrived earlier. It's a new drug that should take care of your migraines."

Nothing she'd given me so far had effectively worked. I was willing to try anything. "What is it?" I asked, squinting my eyes. The light was starting to hurt my eyes. Dad reached over and turned on my nightlight.

"Daniel, turn that overhead light off."

"Imitrex," said Janet as she handed me the pill and a glass of water.

As I swallowed the pills, we heard someone pounding on the door downstairs. Even that sound was killing me. "Dad," I said weakly.

"Daniel, can you and Teal'c see who that is? And quiet them down for cryin' out loud," he said softly.

"Sure."

Janet went to the bathroom and I heard water running. Dad rolled me over on my right side. We'd found that sleeping on my side, helps to relieve the pain. He tucked another pillow under my head.

Janet handed him something and I felt something cold and wet on the back of my neck. "That better, baby?" he asked.

"Mmm hmm," I said.

We heard yelling downstairs and I recognized Sara's voice. So did mom and dad. I started to panic, to tremble. "Easy, honey," said dad, kissing me on the forehead.

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know baby. But, I'm not gonna let her get away with this…and I'm not gonna let her hurt you again."

"Jack!" screamed Sara from downstairs.

He looked at mom. "Call the police…otherwise, I'm gonna kill her," he said.

Mom picked up the phone as we heard the door slam. Daniel ran up the stairs. "Jack!"

"Ow," I said in anguish as mom hung up the phone.

"Keep it down, Daniel," said dad angrily.

"Sorry, sweetheart," said Uncle Daniel softly. "Sara said she'd be back with the police for us trying to keep her out of _her _house."

"What!" exclaimed dad…loudly.

"Dad," I said weakly. "Please."

"Sorry, Sunshine," he said, kissing me on the temple before mom started massaging the same temple. I was trying not to cry, but my head was hurting so freaking bad.

I closed my eyes and let mom's touch lure me to sleep. I was almost there when there was another knock at the door. I opened my eyes and saw Uncle Danny leave the room.

"Mama?"

"It's ok. He's just gonna go see who's at the door," she said.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to go back to sleep. I was praying the whole time that I wouldn't have anymore nightmares.

* * *

_Sam's POV_

As soon as Jessie was asleep, Jack and I went downstairs to see what was going on. Sure enough, Sara had shown back up with the cops. They were actually handcuffing Daniel and Teal'c! That really pissed Jack off.

"What in the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

"Jack, these men wouldn't let me in _our_ house," whined Sara. She spotted me. "And she's not supposed to be here either. She broke in earlier."

"This isn't your house, Sara! It's mine and Sam's," said Jack vehemently. He pointed to the cops holding Daniel and Teal'c. "Let them go. They're my friends," he added.

"Then who is she?" asked one of them.

"My ex-wife and the woman who tried to kill my daughter," he said.

As if on cue, Jessie cried out in pain. "Mama!"

I ran up the stairs, followed by Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and one of the cops. The other officer was handcuffing a struggling Sara.

Jessie was lying in bed with a severe cramp in her leg. Janet was trying to get her to let her straighten her leg out, but Jessie couldn't – wouldn't – do it.

"Let me, Janet." I reached out and coaxed Jessie into letting me massage her leg. Minutes later, she'd relaxed and Janet gave her a shot of Valium to relax her muscles even further.

"Mama?"

"I'm here, honey," I said, laying down beside her and laying her head on my shoulder.

"What happened down there?" she asked quietly.

"They've arrested Sara," said Jack. "She's not going to bother you ever again."

"Ok," she said softly.

"Are you sure that she is the one who tried to kill you?" asked the cop that had followed us upstairs.

Jessie tensed, but said, "Yes."

"How?"

"I…I…I remembered everything," she whispered.

"After almost five months, you remember everything?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes," she said with a sob.

I started rocking her slowly. "Shh, baby," I said, stroking her hair, trying to get her to calm down.

"Look, officer…" Jack trailed off waiting for the officer to fill in his name.

"Pembroke," he said.

"Officer Pembroke. As you can see, Jessie is in a lot of pain at the moment. She remembers everything that happened to her from the time she ran away until the time my bitch-of-an-ex-wife threw her out of the car," said Jack, his voice getting louder and more agitated by the word.

"Dad…please," said Jessie in a pain-filled voice. Her head was still hurting and the medicine Janet had given her hadn't kicked in yet.

"Sorry, honey," he said, kissing her temple lightly.

"Why is it so dark in here?" asked the officer.

"Jessie has a migraine headache, brought on by the stress of Sara being here," said Janet.

"Sorry," he said. "I get those too." He turned to Jack. "We'll need you to bring her in tomorrow to give a statement."

"Alright. Now, it's late and, like I said, she's in a lot of pain."

"Yes, sir. We'll leave now, but we need her…"

"I get it," said Jack. "Daniel, see the officers out."

I noticed Jessie had shut her eyes and appeared to be sleeping. Jack saw the others out of Jessie's room with a firm "Good night."

He shut the door as I laid Jessie back down on her right side and curled myself around her. Jack crawled back into bed and curled his body around mine. Jessie's breathing had finally evened out and I knew then that she was sleeping peacefully. The Valium seemed to do its' job.

I turned my face to Jack. "Are you ok?" I whispered.

"Yeah. I'm glad it's almost over. I don't think I've _ever _hated anyone as much as I hate Sara right now," he said with a sigh.

"I love you, Jack," I said, giving him a soft kiss.

"I love you, too, Sam," he whispered against my lips.

I turned back to Jessie and tucked her head underneath my chin. If Sara wasn't convicted, they were going to have to arrest me. If Sara wasn't convicted…I was going to kill her.


	6. Goodbyes

_Not mine. Will never be mine. But, I will play with them. I promise to put them back though.  
_

_

* * *

_

_My POV_

I awoke the next morning still safely encased in mom's arms. I snuggled deeper into mom's embrace, just enjoying the peacefulness in the early morning light. I felt nauseous again, so I knew another migraine was on its' way. I'd hoped Aunt Janet left some of that medicine from the night before. I needed to pee and I knew if I didn't wake mom up, she'd have my hide. I couldn't stand on my own yet. It hurt too much.

"Mom," I said, shaking her gently. She moaned and rolled over to face dad. "Mama," I said, shaking her a little harder. She still didn't wake up.

I fell off the bed with a thud. I waited to see if they were going to wake up. Nope. I forced myself to my knees and started to crawl to my bathroom. I was halfway there when a cramp hit. The pain was intense and bit my lip. But, I kept going. I had to get to the toilet; otherwise, I was going to puke all over my carpet. I finally made it and threw up in the toilet, but the pain was overwhelming, that I couldn't help the cry that escaped.

"Mama!" I cried out…barely. I was still biting my lip, trying to keep from screaming.

* * *

_Sam's POV_

I awoke to Jessie crying out for me. I jerked away from a now-awake Jack and jumped out of bed. "Jessie!" I cried out, looking around for my daughter, but not seeing her.

"Mama," I heard her cry weakly, tearfully from her bathroom.

Both Jack and I ran in quickly. She was laying on the floor, clawing at her leg, trying to straighten it out. Jack picked her up and carried her back to her bed. As soon as she was settled, I began to massage her leg, slowly loosening the tightened, painful muscle.

Once her leg was relaxed, she stopped biting her lip. I reached over, wiped the blood from her lips, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You ok?"

"I gotta pee," she said softly.

I chuckled and picked her up. I helped her into the bathroom and let her do her thing. Jack went downstairs to get her some pain medicine and some juice.

_(Mama?)_

_(You done?)_

_(Uh huh)_

I opened the door and helped her pull up her shorts and balanced her while she washed her hands. "Why didn't you wake me up, honey?" I asked softly.

"I tried," she said tiredly. "But, you wouldn't wake up."

I could see the tears streaming down her face. I pulled her into my arms and waited until she'd put her arms around my waist. "I'm sorry, honey. Next time, throw some water on me. I'll wake up," I said, kissing the top of her head. For thirteen years old, she was still very small…maybe 4'3"…if that. I was over a foot taller than she was.

I got the reaction I'd been going for. She giggled. "Yeah…I can see that happening," she said softly.

"I love you, Jessie. I will do _anything _to help you get better," I said.

"I love you, too, mama," she said softly.

I kissed the top of her head again and picked her up. "Migraine?" I asked as she grimaced.

"Yeah," she said softly.

"Let's get another one of those pills that Janet gave you last night," I whispered.

She closed her eyes. _(Ok)_

I took her back in her room and laid her on the bed. "You wanna get dressed?"

"Yes, ma'am," she said softly.

I pulled a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt out of her closet and helped her get them on. We were finishing up when Jack came back inside with her medicine and juice.

"Here you go, Sunshine," he said handing her the drink and pills.

"Thanks, dad," she said softly.

"Welcome. You hungry?" he asked as she took the medicine.

"Not really," she said. "I just wanna sleep."

"Well, you need to eat something," said dad. "Even if it's just some oatmeal."

"Yuck," she said, as her stomach grumbled.

I laughed. "Come on, little bit," I said.

"Little bit?" she asked with an O'Neill smirk.

"Sounded good to me," I said, shrugging my shoulders as I helped her stand.

Jack picked her up and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Dad!"

"Jack, she just threw up. Are you sure you want to carry her like that?" I asked.

He stood her up and then picked her up again, cradling her to his chest. I followed them downstairs hoping Jessie would eat something. We saw that Janet, Daniel, and Teal'c were already awake and fixing breakfast for everyone.

"Morning campers," said Jack as he sat Jessie in a chair at the table.

Jessie rested her head on the table as Jack massaged her neck, trying to relieve some of the tension in her body. "Janet, she's got another migraine," I said.

"Did the _Imitrex _work last night?" she asked.

_(Yes)_

"She said it did," said Jack.

She ran upstairs and grabbed her bag as I got a cold washrag and put on the back of Jessie's neck. Janet ran back downstairs, the sound hurting Jessie's head.

"Ow," she said in an anguish-filled voice.

"Sorry, Jessie," whispered Janet, handing me the pills.

Jack gently raised her head and slipped his sunglasses on her. Daniel grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to me. I handed Jack the pills and the opened water bottle.

"Open," whispered Jack. She did and he popped the pills inside. I knew she had her eyes closed, so I held the water for her and Jack tipped her head back to drink. When she'd done that, he picked her up and put her on his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder, trying to keep still.

We sat there in silence until her migraine was under control. She slid the glasses off her face and sat them on the table.

"Thanks, dad."

"Welcome, Sunshine," he said kissing the back of her head. "You want some oatmeal now?"

"No."

"Jessie, you need to eat something," said Janet in her best doctor's voice.

"I'm not hungry, Aunt Janet. I just want to go back to sleep," insisted Jessie, closing her eyes.

"I'll make you some broth, little bit," I said, just to see her smile. I was rewarded when she opened her eyes and gave me a sleepy grin. I leaned forward and kissed my daughter on the forehead.

"You need something in your stomach, honey," said Jack.

She sighed and said, "yes, sir."

I laughed at the look on Jack's face.

"Do you know how much I hated hearing that word come out of your mom's mouth?" he asked.

She giggled. "That's my little bit," I said.

"Mama!" she groaned at the new nickname I'd given her.

"What?" I asked with a smile.

"I don't know what's worse…sunshine, angel, or little bit!" she laughed with a giggle.

"Well, your dad is the only one who calls you 'Sunshine'. Grandpa calls you 'angel' and he stole _that_ from me. Now, I'm calling you 'little bit'." I stopped and gave her an evil grin. "It's either that or 'mini-me'," I said.

Everyone laughed at the look of horror on Jessie's face when I said that. "Little bit is fine," she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

I quickly made her some chicken broth and handed her the cup. "Drink," I ordered as Daniel scooped eggs and bacon onto everyone else's plates.

She was still sitting on Jack's lap when she finished her broth. The adults in the room were talking about what we were going to do for Janet's birthday which was coming up.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Did I hear Mr. Savage last night?"

Jack closed his eyes. "Yeah, baby. He said Landon gave him this to give to you," he said pulling the letter out of her back pocket.

She took it and started to get off his lap. "Where're you going?" he asked.

"Living room," she said quietly.

"Here," I said. I picked her up and took her into the living room for some privacy. I could see she was trembling. "You ok, honey?"

"Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Landon gone?" she asked.

"I think so, honey. I think his real parents came for him last night," I said, stroking her back gently.

"Ok."

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," I said.

"Ok, mama."

* * *

_My POV_

I stared at the envelop for a long time. I knew he was gone. Even without reading the letter. I could feel the tears welling up and the pain in my chest was making it hard to breathe. I knew mom and dad were listening for any sounds coming from the living room. With shaking hands, I opened the letter.

My dearest Jessie,

By the time you read this, I'll already be gone. I guess I should start by telling you that my biological parents are coming for me tonight. I don't want to leave you, but they're not giving me much of a choice. I know there's no way to ever make this up to you. I can only hope one day you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. I can't say goodbye to you Jessie. I love you too much. It hurts too much to think that I'm saying goodbye to the one good thing in my life. I need you to look after the demon twins for me. They'll need you to keep them out of trouble. Please believe me when I say that I love you. Someday, we will be together. Please forgive me for leaving this way. I will write you when I get where I'm going. I'm sorry, Jessie. I can't say goodbye. I just can't.

Love Always,

Landon

I started to cry as soon as I saw his handwriting. There was something else inside the envelop. I dropped the letter on the table and emptied the envelop into my hand. There was a bracelet inside with a silver rose etched into the top. On the inside of the bracelet were the words: Gráim thú Muirnín. "I love you, too, Landon," I whispered, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces.

I couldn't stop the sob from erupting from my chest. I heard footsteps right before I orbed to my room.

* * *

_Sam's POV_

I heard Jessie start to cry and we all went into the living room, just as she orbed out. Janet and Daniel were keeping her from orbing out of the house, so we knew she went to her room. In fact, we could hear her sobbing from there.

I looked at Jack and he handed me the letter that she'd left. I quickly read it and my heart began to break for my thirteen year old daughter. Then Jack gasped. He held up the silver bracelet. It was gorgeous. A rose was etched into the top of the bracelet and there were some words etched into the bottom that I could feel with my hands.

"Daniel, what does this mean?" I asked after reading the words.

He took the bracelet and read silently. "It looks Gaelic," he said softly.

Jack took the bracelet from me and read the inscription out loud. "_Gráim thú Muirnín_. It means 'I love you, sweetheart'."

"Jack?" asked Daniel.

"What?"

"When did you learn Gaelic?"

"I've always known it, Daniel. Irish Catholic is what my family is," he said softly.

I wrapped my arms around my husband and felt him return the embrace. I knew he'd quit speaking Gaelic after Charlie died. But, I knew he'd started teaching it to Jessie.

"She's heartbroken," said Janet.

"Yeah," said Jack softly.

I ran up the stairs to find her lying on her bed, crying with a broken heart. I didn't know what to say, so I just lay down beside her and held her in my arms.

"It hurts, mama," she said between sobs, burying her head in my chest.

"I know, little bit. I know," I whispered, stroking her hair.

"But, he did say he'd write, right?"

"I guess," she said with another sob.

I didn't say anything else. I just held her and let her cry. This was something I had hoped she'd never have to go through. Something that, unfortunately, is a part of growing up…breaking up and heartbreak.

When she'd fallen asleep, I noticed Jack standing in her doorway. I held my finger to my lips, motioning for him to stay quiet. I extracted myself from Jessie and kissed her on the forehead. As hard as she'd cried, I knew she was emotionally drained.

"Here," he whispered, tossing something to me. I caught it and realized it was her bracelet. I reached over and placed it on her wrist. She curled up on her side and hugged her bear, a single tear sliding down her face. I reached over and wiped it away.

"Is she ok?" asked Jack.

"Given time, I think she will be," I said, watching as he walked towards us.

He sat down on the bed beside me. "I know he loves her. But, he's hurt her and that's something I can never forgive," he said.

"I know. I don't think he meant to hurt her like this. Something is going on with that boy and it's got something to do with Jessie," I said softly, watching Jack stroke Jessie's hair.

"What do you think it is?" he asked.

"I don't know. But, I don't think it's going to hurt her…not physically at least."

"Emotionally?" he asked.

"I don't know. I don't believe he'd willing hurt her in any way."

"It's the unwillingly that will have me end up killing him," he said softly.

"Jack…" I began.

"Just kidding, Sam. I know how much he loves her. Hell, that letter proved it." He sighed and ran his fingers through her hair. "But, she's only thirteen."

"I know, Jack. But, she loves him. Before she got hurt, she told me that after what that man did to her, she was afraid no boy or man would ever want her. Landon knows _something _happened to her, but not exactly what, and, to him, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference."

"But, how do you know that?" he asked.

"He told me," I said. "Right after she went into the coma."

"So, he really does love her?"

"Yes, Jack. He really does love her."

"Mama?"

"I'm here, honey," I said.

"Can we do my p.t. now? Get it over with?"

"Sure, honey." Jack went downstairs to get Janet. "Are you ok?"

"Not really, but I don't want to talk about it," she whispered.

"Ok, baby. If you do want to talk, I'm here," I said, hugging her and kissing her forehead.

"Thanks, mama."

Janet came up and we started her physical therapy. Both Jack and I kept a close eye on her for any discomfort. It went surprisingly well, considering the pain she'd been in the day before and that morning.

After her physical therapy, we were sitting in the living room. Jessie was working on a new computer program for me. That girl was a genius when it came to finding the mistakes in code.

Jack and Daniel were arguing over the remote. Jack wanted to watch a hockey game and Daniel wanted the _Discovery_ Channel. Then the phone rang.

"O'Neill," said Jack, answering the phone and shoving the remote down his pants to keep Daniel from getting it.

"That's just sick, Jack," he said.

I reached down Jack's pants and grabbed the remote. He sputtered and dropped the phone back on the cradle. "Sam!"

I just grinned and tossed the remote to Daniel who held it between his thumb and forefinger. "Jack, that's just plain disgusting!" he said.

"My wife likes it," he said, causing me to blush.

"Dadddd!" groaned Jessie.

"What?" he asked massaging the back of her neck.

"Uncle Danny's right. That's just plain nasty!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

"Yes, boss. I won't do it again," he said with a deep sigh.

Jessie's stomach rumbled. "You hungry?"

"A little," she said.

I reached into the fridge and pulled out a salad I had made for her earlier. It had all her favorites…lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, turkey, ham, and parmesan cheese. "Here ya go, honey," I said, handing the bowl and a fork.

"Thanks, mama," she said. That's when I noticed something. She hadn't called me 'mom' all day. It was 'mama'. It felt good.

That's when I remembered the phone call. "Jack, who was on the phone?" I asked.

"Not sure. I kind of dropped it when you shoved your hand down my pants," he said with a smirk. I blushed again.

"I've got it mama!" said Jessie, putting down the bowl of salad. "Here's the problem," she said, typing something into the code. "Now, it should work," she said with that smile that lights up the room.

"Let's see it run," I said, as Jack and I gathered around her.

She typed in the run command and there it was. The program I'd been fighting with for weeks was working perfectly! I grabbed her in a hug and swung her around. "That's my girl!"

She giggled until I sat her down. "Now, you finish eating, while I save this to disc."

"Ok," she said. She finished eating her salad, sitting on the couch watching the hockey game with Jack. I could tell she was exhausted from the physical therapy, but was determined not to show it.

She finished her lunch and I took the bowl from her. When I came back from the kitchen, she'd curled up next to Jack and had fallen asleep with him stroking her hair.

The phone rang again. "O'Neill," he answered.

He listened for a few seconds. "It's going to be a while. She's taking a nap. Yes, I understand. We'll have her there as soon as possible." He slammed the phone down angrily, causing Jessie to jump in her sleep. "Sorry, Sunshine," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"What is it, Jack? What's wrong?" I asked.

"That was Officer Pembroke. He wants Jessie to come down and give a statement against Sara," he said.

"She just fell asleep," I said, protesting, sitting down and putting her feet on my legs.

"I know. I told him that."

"And?"

"He said it has to be done. Otherwise, the judge is going to release her on bail."

"Damn it," I said.

"We gotta wake her up and get her dressed and down to the station by 1500 or Sara's free to go."

"Shit," I said.

"Might as well go now," said Jack. He leaned over. "Wake up, Jessie. Come on, Sunshine. I need you to wake up."

"Five more minutes, daddy," she murmured sleepily.

I laughed and gently shook her awake. She sat up sleepily. "Wha…what's going on?"

"We need to get you dressed," I said, standing and helping her stand. When I thought she had her balance, I let her go. "Are you sure you can walk?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said softly.

We watched anxiously as she slowly made her way to the staircase. Gripping the handrail, she made it to the top of the stairs. She turned and gave us a triumphant grin, which we returned. Then her face lost all color and she started gasping for breath.

"Mama!" she cried out, just before she collapsed.

I was halfway up the stairs when she collapsed. I knew I should've walked her up the stairs. She still wasn't well enough to do it on her own…especially after the four hour physical therapy this morning.

She was still conscious, but tears of anger and embarrassment were falling down her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's ok, honey. You're ok," I said as I picked her up and carried her into her bedroom and sat her down on her bed.

"Mama?" she asked softly as I pulled out a pair of jeans and her _Air Force Academy _sweatshirt.

"Hmm?"

"Am I ever gonna get better?" she asked in a voice so soft, I could barely hear her.

I laid her clothes on her bed and put my arms around her. She felt so small and so fragile to me right then.

"Jessie, you're gonna be fine. You just need to give yourself time." She looked away. "Honey. You were in a coma for almost four months. I know you're frustrated with everything right now. You need to take it one day at a time."

She groaned at the obvious cliché. But, I'd gotten my point across. "Just take your time, little bit and in no time, you're gonna be out there running circles around me and your dad," I said rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I thought when I ran yesterday, it meant I was getting better. But, I guess I just made it worse, huh?"

"Not really. Just a minor setback," I said, kissing the top of her head where it rested on my shoulder. "Now. I'm gonna go appease your dad before he runs in here like a wild man. Get dressed and when you're ready, call me, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Ok."

I could tell she wasn't happy with her situation. But, short of putting her in a sarcophagus, there was nothing we could do for her. I kissed her again and left her alone to get dressed.

"Is she ok?" asked Jack as I ran into him right outside her door.

"She's fine, Jack. She's just a little upset that she still isn't completely healed. She's frustrated and it's understandable."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah. She wants to be able to do things on her own again," I said as he put his arms around me. I buried my head in his chest.

"She's just like you," he whispered.

"Ya think?" I said with a chuckle. He leaned down and kissed me softly.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?" he said, pushing my hair behind my ears and cupping my face.

"Nope," I said with a grin.

"Well, that is something I have to remedy." He leaned in closely. "I love you, Sam…Samantha O'Neill."

"I love you, too, Jack O'Neill," I said as he closed the distance and placed his lips on mine. "At least I didn't call you 'John'," I said against his lips causing him to snort.

_(Mama? I'm done)_

_(Be right there)_

"You're daughter is waiting," I said. He kissed me again and opened the door.

"You ready, Sunshine?"

"Yes, sir," she said softly, playing with her bracelet.

"Put your arms around my neck, Jessie." She did and he lifted her up easily. When he just stood there, she looked up at him. "I'm gonna let you walk by yourself. But, if you start to get tired, you let me know, ok?"

"Ok."

I watched as Jack kissed the top of her head and let her go. She took an unsteady step. To my surprise, she reached out for Jack. He grabbed her arm and steadied her. "You got it?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. He released her and she took a steady step this time. She made it to me and smiled. She gripped the railing and, with me and Jack behind her, slowly made her way down the stairs. I grabbed my purse as Jack grabbed his keys. Daniel and Janet were riding with us. The story was that Jessie was still under a doctor's care…the doctor being Janet. It wasn't entirely untrue. Janet _is _her doctor and she's still in physical therapy.

With us still behind her, she walked all the way out to the truck and held on to the door. I opened it for her. She looked up at me and grinned.

"I did it," she said softly.

"You sure did," I said, giving her a hug before lifting her into the truck.

She smiled most of the way into town. But, when we were about four blocks from the station, the smile left her face. That's when I realized we hadn't told her where we were going.

"Jessie?"

"Mama, where're we going?"

"You remember Officer Pembroke from last night?" asked Jack.

"Yes, sir."

"He called and said they needed you to pick Sara out of a line up and file a formal statement."

"Oh."

I turned around and looked at her. Her blue eyes were wide with fear. I reached out my hand and she took it. She was trembling.

"It's ok, Jessie. She can't hurt you anymore," I said.

"I'm scared, mama," she said in a trembling voice.

"I know, baby. But, trust me. We're not going to let her hurt you again."

I kissed her hand and let her go. I could see she was fighting with herself, trying to maintain control of her emotions. Jack reached over and took my hand in his, kissing the back as I had done to Jessie.

When we got to the station, she got out on her own. She took a few unsteady steps and said, "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"I…I…I can't make it," she said in a rush. Her left leg was beginning to shake uncontrollably. Jack reached her just as she started to collapse.

He picked her up and shuffled her until she was comfortable. "You ok?"

"No," she said. "I wanna go home. I don't wanna do this!" She started to cry, burying her head in his shoulder.

"Is she ok?" asked Daniel.

"She will be," I said softly.

"I wanna go home!" said Jessie angrily. "Please mama…please take me home. Please mama."

Just then, Officer Pembroke walked outside. "It's about time you got here." He noticed Jessie was terrified. "What's wrong?"

"She's scared you moron," said Jack, trying unsuccessfully to calm our distraught daughter.

"I wanna go home…I wanna go home…I wanna…" she trailed off and tensed up. "I…I…I'm gonna be sick," she stammered.

Jack carried her over to the trashcan and she was violently sick. "Go get her some water," ordered Janet. The officer left to do that as Jessie continued throwing up. She collapsed weakly in Jack's arms when the officer came back. Jack held the cup as Jessie rinsed out her mouth.

"Please mama…I wanna go home," she said through her tears.

"Is there any way that we can do this at another time?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done today. Otherwise, Sara is going to walk."

"How long is it going to take?" asked Jack angrily. He continued to rock Jessie back and forth, trying to calm her.

"About ten minutes," said the officer.

"Can you handle ten minutes, Sunshine?" he asked Jessie softly.

"I just wanna go home, daddy. Please," she begged, hiccupping through her tears. "I…I can't do this. I can't face her!"

"You can, Jessie. You're stronger than all of us put together," I said.

"Sunshine, you've been through so much and you've survived. You _can _do this," said Jack.

She cried for a few more minutes. She was only thirteen. She shouldn't have had to deal with any of this. We both had our arms around her. We were getting some strange looks from people going in and out of the building, but none of us cared.

Finally Jessie calmed and wiped her eyes. I pulled a tissue out of my purse and gently wiped her tears from her cheeks. She looked so helpless and frightened, I just wanted to take her home and hide her away from the rest of the world. She looked up at me and then at Jack.

"I'm ready," she said softly.

Jack nodded and I helped him stand up with Jessie in his arms. "You have ten minutes," said Jack. "Ten minutes and we're out of here."

The officer nodded. "Follow me."

With a silently crying Jessie in Jack's arms, the four of us followed the officer into the station. He led us to a dark room and told us to wait there. Jessie was trembling uncontrollably.

A few minutes later, another officer came in, along with a Captain. "Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill. This is Captain Yeager."

"Mr. O'Neill. Mrs. O'Neill."

"Colonel O'Neill," said Jack. "My wife is Major O'Neill."

"Army?"

"Air Force," said Jack. "Can we get on with this? My daughter is absolutely terrified!"

"I apologize," he said hastily. I got the feeling this guy didn't like us too much. For humans that was strange. Normally when people didn't like us without knowing us, they were either Goa'uld or Jaffa. It didn't really matter. Since Pete, we've all been a little leery when it came to the police.

He walked over to a phone. "Send them in."

At that time, eight women walked in the room in front of us. It was separated by a two-way mirror. Jessie reached out blindly and grabbed my hand. She was shaking so badly.

"Now, Miss O'Neill. Do you recognize any of these people as the woman who threw you out of her car?" asked Captain Yeager.

"Yes," she whimpered.

"Well? Which one?"

She hid her face in Jack's shirt again. "Third from the left," she said, loud enough for him to hear.

He picked up the phone and said, "Third from the left." It was Sara O'Neill.

"She identified her. Can we go now?" asked Jack.

"Yes," said Captain Yeager.

He stood with Jessie in his arms and together we walked out. Unfortunately, it was at the same time that Sara was brought out.

"You little bitch!" she screamed, running towards us. Before we could stop her, she'd ripped Jessie from Jack's arms and threw her on the floor, kicking her.

The officers tackled her, stopping her from doing any more damage. Unfortunately, it wasn't before we heard a loud crack. Janet knelt beside Jessie.

"What hurts, Jessie?" she asked.

"My side," she said with a sob. She had blood on her lips. _Shit. Broken ribs, possibly punctured lung._

"Let's get her to the infirmary," said Janet.

Jack went to pick her up and she cried out before passing out. "Shit. Jack, don't move her," ordered Janet. She looked up at an officer. "Do you have a backboard?"

Without answering, he took off. A minute or two later, he showed back up with a backboard. Jack and Daniel gently laid Jessie on it and strapped her in. They picked her up and carried her out to the truck. Daniel rode in the back; Janet knelt beside Jessie, trying to make her comfortable. I was going to kill Sara for this. Nothing was going to stop me.

We got her to the hospital and rushed her inside, Janet taking over immediately. "You'll have to wait out here, guys."

We nodded. "I'm gonna kill her, Sam. I'm gonna kill her," said Jack, pulling me into his arms.

"Not if I get to her first," I said.

Daniel walked up. "I called Teal'c and General Hammond. General Hammond is going to pick Teal'c up and then they'll be here."

"Why?" I asked. "There's nothing they can do."

"General Hammond is going to make sure that Sara does _not _post bail," he said.

We sat down waiting for Janet to come out. About thirty minutes later, General Hammond and Teal'c had shown up and were waiting with us when Janet came out.

"Janet?"

"She's fine, guys. She's got three bruised ribs and a slight concussion, but she's fine."

"What about the blood?" asked Jack.

"She bit her tongue," said Janet.

"Are you sure, Dr. Fraiser?" asked General Hammond.

"Yes, sir."

"Can we take her home?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said. "She's bruised and sore, but she's going to be fine. As always, it will hurt more tomorrow."

"Can we give her anything?" I asked.

"Just what she's been taking. With the leg cramps, I thought about giving her some valium, but for the actual pain? Possibly morphine or demerol."

_(Mama?)_

_(I'm here, honey. Dad and I are talking to Aunt Janet)_

_(Can I go home? I'm scared)_

_(Of what, honey?)_

_(Everything)_

I looked at Jack and he'd caught the conversation too. His eyes widened with her admission.

_(Please mama. I wanna go home)_

_(Ok, honey)_

"Where is she?" asked Jack.

"Follow me," said Janet, leading us to a private exam room. Jessie was curled up, trembling with fear.

_(Daddy?)_

"I'm here, Sunshine," said Jack, walking over to her. He reached out his hand to touch her face and she opened her eyes. I could see the fear inside her normally brilliant eyes.

_(I wanna go home)_

"Ok, baby," he said. "We'll go home." He looked at Janet. "Right? She can go home?"

"Yes, sir."

Jack gently picked her trembling body up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. She whimpered slightly.

"Are you hurting?" he whispered to her.

_(Yes)_

"Doc? Did you give her anything?"

"Yes. The morphine should be kicking in soon," said Janet.

At that moment, Jessie visibly relaxed against Jack. I drove home with Jack holding Jessie. She hadn't said a word since we left the police station.

When we got home, Jack laid Jessie in her bed and covered her up. She'd fallen asleep just as we pulled into the drive way. He didn't have the heart to wake her. She woke up screaming a few times, but other than that, she didn't say anything out loud.

* * *

_One Week Later_

We all sat there staring at the TV, but not really seeing anything. "Sam?" asked Janet.

"Hmm?"

"Has she said anything?"

"Not since we left the station," said Jack, running his hand through his hair.

"We don't know what to do, Janet," I said. "When we ask her why she won't talk out loud, all she says is she's too scared."

"She _thinks _that to you?"

"Yes."

"Does she say why?" asked Daniel.

"No."

_(Mama? Daddy?)_

_(We're here, honey)_

_(Where? I can't see you)_

_(We'll be right up)_

_(Ok)_

"We'll be right back," I said. We ran up the stairs to find Jessie sitting up in bed.

"You ok?"

_(You really want to know why I'm scared?)_

"Yes," I said.

_(The last time I said anything, I ended up with three bruised ribs and a concussion. The time before that, I'd been beaten into submission by my foster parents. If I don't talk, I don't get hurt)_

"Jessie, you know we're not going to hurt you," said Jack. I could tell he was hurt by the thought that Jessie thought we would strike her for talking.

_(I know, daddy. My heart knows that. But, my head thinks otherwise.)_ She started to cry and we wrapped our arms around her. _(I don't know what to do)_

"Just take it one step at a time, honey."

_(I'm scared)_

"We know, honey. We know. But, we're here for you. We love you and we're gonna help you get better."

"Just take your time," I said.

_(But, it's been a week. What if…)_

"Ah! No buts," I said. "You're going to be fine. Just take your time, baby."

_(Yes, ma'am)

* * *

_

_Two weeks later_

_Jack's POV_

I'll kill Sara for this. Her actions have set us back almost two years. Jessie's hurting so much and I don't know how to help her. Sam was right though. We needed to give her time. She needed to take her time. Otherwise, we were going to lose her forever.

She ate fine. She did her homework that Sam got for her. She was a normal thirteen year old girl. But, she wouldn't speak. Now, we knew why. Even though she knew we wouldn't hurt her, she was terrified of being hit for saying something out loud.

As we crawled into bed that night and I held Sam in my arms, I thought back on the last few months. Jessie being thrown out of the car. Jessie in the hospital in a coma. Jessie at the police station. Jessie being afraid of everything.

I'd almost dozed off listening to Sam's steady breathing when it happened.

"Daddy!" screamed Jessie from her room.

Sam and I both jumped up and, grabbing our nine-mils, ran to Jessie's room, thinking the worst. Pete Shanahan was standing there holding a zat. As was Colonel Simmons. I knew I'd kill those bastards if I got the chance. Jessie was thrashing around on the bed and I knew she'd been zatted once. I could see Simmons ready to fire his zat and I jumped him, causing the shot to go wide. Sam knocked Pete out with a blow to the back of the head. I grabbed the zat and fired at Simmons, knocking him out.

I started to do the same thing to Pete, but Jessie stopped me with a word…one she said aloud.

"Daddy?"

"Call Daniel," I told Sam.

She nodded and grabbed the phone by Jessie's bed. "I'm here, honey." I looked over at her. She was sitting up with her arms around her legs.

"Why daddy? Why does everybody hate me so much?" she said softly.

"Not everybody hates you baby. Your mom and I love you. So does Grandpa George, and Grandpa Jacob. So does Cassie, and Daniel and Teal'c."

She started to cry and I held her close. "Daniel is on his way with SG-3," said Sam. I looked at her in shock. "Those Marines want their chance at these idiots too."

"Mama?"

"I'm here, honey," said Sam. "And I'm so glad you're talking again." She crawled into bed with us and we held a sobbing Jessie.

A moan from Shanahan caused Jessie to cry out in fear.

"What the…" he moaned.

I handed a violently trembling Jessie to her mom and stood up. I picked up the zat and shot him once, rendering him unconscious. I drug his unconscious body downstairs and tied him up. Oh how I wanted to pull that trigger two more times. But, I didn't. He was going to suffer for what he'd done to my daughter.

I went back upstairs and drug Simmons' body downstairs and did the same thing. Then I went back upstairs and picked up Jessie.

"Come on, Sunshine," I said softly. "It's almost over."

She was trembling badly. "I'm scared, daddy," she whispered.

"I know, baby. But, I'm not gonna let them hurt you again. If I have anything to say about it, they're both dead men."

I kissed the top of her head and we went downstairs to wait on the rest of the group to show up. We sat down on the couch to await their arrival.

Simmons came too first. "What the hell is going on?"

"You're a dead man, Simmons."

"For what? This freak?"

I sat Jessie on Sam's lap and stood. I walked over to Simmons and backhanded him, drawing blood. "Don't you dare call my daughter a freak, you son-of-a-bitch!"

I could feel Jessie's powers rising. "Back up, dad," she said softly.

I moved and she fired a glowing ball at Simmons, knocking him back out. She collapsed against Sam, breathing heavily. I rushed over to them.

"You ok, Sunshine?"

"Yes, sir," she said weakly. "Thirsty."

I went to the fridge and got her some apple juice. When I came back, she was resting peacefully on the couch with her head in Sam's lap. Sam helped her sit up and I handed her the juice.

"Drink it slowly, Sunshine," I said. For once, she did what I said without complaint. That's when I knew she wasn't feeling well at all.

A knock at the door broke the silence. "Come," I said. Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, and SG-3 walked in the house.

"Jack?" said Daniel.

"They attacked Jessie," I said angrily.

"What happened, O'Neill?" asked Teal'c.

"We woke up to Jessie screaming. We found these two assholes in her room. One of them shot her with a zat. I shot Simmons."

Simmons and Shanahan chose that moment to regain consciousness. They both tensed when they realized they were surrounded by five very pissed-off Marines, one extremely pissed-off Jaffa, and one angry archaeologist.

"What in the hell is going on?" asked Simmons cockily.

"You're going down, Simmons. You tried to kill Jessie O'Neill."

"Prove it," he sneered.

They could all see how terrified Jessie was of the two men in front of her. She was huddled on Sam's lap with her head buried in Sam's shoulder.

"Colonel?" asked Reynolds.

"What?"

"Maybe we should take them out of here. Jessie shouldn't be a witness to this."

"Do what you have to do," I said.

"What're you going to do with us?" asked Shanahan.

"You'll find out," said Reynolds, dragging him up by his hair.

Teal'c grabbed Simmons who tried to struggle. A direct hit to the jaw rendered him unconscious…again. They dragged the both of them out the door.

Jessie started crying uncontrollably. I _think _I know what they had in mind for the two idiots, but I really didn't want to know. Jessie was safe…and we were going to keep her that way.


	7. Rite of Passage

_Sam's POV_

I didn't know how long we sat there on the couch, with Jessie huddled on my lap. Even though it seemed to be over, she was so terrified.

"Mama?" she whispered hesitantly. She was still trying to get over her fear of retribution for talking out loud.

"Hmm?"

"Is it over?"

"I think so. SG-3 is taking care of those two morons," said Jack.

"What're they gonna do to them?" she asked.

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I don't know, baby. But, whatever it is, they deserve it…and more."

She shivered and I tucked the blanket around her. She was thirteen years old, but was only the size of a normal ten year old. From what we'd been told and what we'd remembered, she was born almost three months early. But, thanks to the Asgard, she'd survived. But, because she was taken away from us, she'd been abused for so long and that seriously stunted her growth.

I held her close and hummed to her as my mom did for me when I was scared. She slowly relaxed and fell asleep. I looked at Jack and saw the same fear in his eyes. We both hoped that this episode hadn't set us back any. She'd finally begun speaking again and hopefully, she'd continue when she woke up.

We sat there for a while longer until my legs began to fall asleep. Jack stood and gently took her from me. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed her forehead softly before heading upstairs. I made sure the doors and windows were locked.

When I got to Jessie's room, I realized she wasn't in there. I went back to our room and noticed that Jack had laid her in our bed. He looked up when I came in.

"She sleeps with us tonight," was all he said.

I let out a sigh of relief. After everything that had happened in that week, I was surprised I was still standing. Hell, I was surprised Jessie was still sane. I shed my robe and crawled into bed with Jack behind me and Jessie in front of me. I pulled Jessie into my arms and buried my head in her long blonde hair.

I felt my tears begin to fall as we lay there in silence. I guess Jack felt it because he pulled me closer to him.

"What's wrong, Sam?" he whispered.

I shook my head, unable for the moment to speak. I took a shuddering breath and slowly let it out. "I guess this week has finally caught up with me," I whispered.

He nuzzled the back of my neck and placed a soft kiss at the bump of my spine. "She's gonna be fine. _We're _gonna be fine."

"I know. It's just…" I trailed off, not knowing how to voice my pain.

"I know, baby. I know," he said softly.

Jessie moaned in her sleep. "No. Don't take her!" She jerked in her sleep. "Mama!" she screamed out as she jerked upright.

We both sat up and I took her fiercely trembling body in my arms. I rocked her back and forth as Jack wrapped his arms around both of us. If she kept sobbing like this, she was going to make herself sick.

"Shh, Jessie. You're safe. It's ok," I whispered, trying to calm her down. It didn't seem to be working. She was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

Minutes later, she pushed herself away from us and ran into the bathroom. Doubling over the toilet, she threw up everything she'd eaten that day. She automatically put her shield up and wouldn't let us in.

"Jessie, come on. Lower your shield and let us in," said Jack.

"No! Don't take her! Please don't take her! Mama!" she screamed.

"Jack, she's still asleep," I said.

She was. Whatever she was dreaming about had her extremely terrified. I took a deep breath and walked through her shield. As soon as I had, she slumped over and her shield fell. I picked her up and cleaned her face off.

"Honey, open your eyes," I whispered. I was still kneeling on the floor with her in my arms, stroking her hair gently.

She opened her blue eyes and looked at me with such fear. "Mama?"

"Shh. You're ok," I said softly, rocking her still trembling body slowly.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Here, Sunshine. Rinse your mouth out," said Jack handing her a glass of water.

She did and spit it into the toilet. "What happened?" she asked again.

"You were dreaming," said Jack. He helped us get off the floor and I carried her back into the bedroom. We laid down, one on each side of her.

"Was it a memory dream?" I asked.

She nodded as her tears began to fall again. "About what?" asked Jack. "You were screaming 'don't take her'. Does something happen to your mom?"

She nodded again. "What happens, honey?" I asked.

She took a deep shuddering breath. "We were on a ship and someone took you. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't. Simmons was there." She started crying again.

"When does this happen?" asked Jack, stroking her back as he pulled her close to him.

She buried her head in his chest and sobbed. "I…I…I don't know."

She cried uncontrollably for about ten minutes before passing out. I looked at Jack. He had fear in his eyes also. I knew it was reflected in my own.

"Sam, I don't want you two going _anywhere _without me or Daniel or Teal'c for a while," he whispered.

I agreed. I knew I could take care of myself. He knew I could take care of myself. Hmm. I didn't know what we were going to do. I didn't know when it would happen or how it would happen.

The two of us fell into an uneasy sleep thinking about what was to come.

----------------------------------------------------------

_My POV_

Dad refused to let me and mom go anywhere without an escort for the next few months. When we went to the gym, we would take Daniel or Teal'c, if he wasn't with us. As time went on, we gradually forgot about _that _particular memory dream. Then Cassie got sick on her birthday. Dad was at the base and it was me, mom, and Aunt Janet. Cassie was acting kind of strange. Mom said she was rebelling against Aunt Janet. I didn't care. I just wanted a piece of that birthday cake.

Cassie went out on the porch to tell her new boyfriend that we wanted him to come inside. I'm not sure what happened between her and Caleb. But, Caleb was with some girl named Taini now and Cassie was with Dominic. Oh well. Nobody ever tells me anything. Neither one of them will tell me what happened. But, I know for a fact that they were fine until Dominic came along. Then our little group kind split up. I was still friends with all three of them, but I was still closer to Cassie than anyone else.

Anyway, enough rambling. Cassie went outside and collapsed. Because Dominic was there, I couldn't try to heal her. Once we got to the infirmary, I tried, but it didn't work. Mom and dad wouldn't let me try again. They were worried that I'd make myself sick again. I did it anyway and ended up sick because I was exhausted. Aunt Janet refused to let me leave my quarters for three days. For those three days, Cassie was getting worse. Dad and mom took turns with me, so one of them would be with Cassie too.

I walked into the infirmary and saw mom and Cassie playing chess. "Hi mama," I said.

"Hi, honey," she said standing and giving me a hug and a kiss on the top of my head. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," I said returning her hug. I looked up at Cassie. "Hi, Cass."

"Hey Jessie," she said with a cough.

"You hungry, honey?" asked mom.

"A little," I said. "Why?"

"Well, your dad and I are going to the commissary for lunch and thought we'd take you too."

"Nah, I'm just gonna stay here and talk to Cassie. But, you can bring me some jello – red, not blue, this time," I said.

"Jessie…" growled mom.

"I'm not gonna try anything," I said. "I promise."

"You'd better not. You're not too old for me to bust your butt," she said with a smile.

I froze. I knew she was only joking, but for a second, I remembered _him_. The smile left my face and, for a split second, was replaced with fear.

"Jessie?" asked mom.

"I'm ok," I said, extremely softly. I was starting to shake and tears were beginning to fall.

"God, Jessie. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, baby," she said, reaching for me. I backed up against the wall. I couldn't breathe from the pain in my chest. I knew in my heart that she was joking, but my head thought different.

"Sam? What's going on?" asked dad as he walked in the room.

Mom dropped her hand and said, "I made a stupid remark about her not being too old to bust her butt." I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"It's not your fault, mama," I whispered through my tears. "I should be over this. It's not your fault that I'm still scared after all this time."

I let her wrap her arms around me, even though everything in me was screaming for me to run. I knew my parents wouldn't hurt me. My heart knew that. But, like I said, my head thought different. After a few moments of standing stiffly in mom's arms, I relaxed and wrapped my arms around her waist, sobbing with an intensity I didn't know existed.

"Shh, honey. I'm so sorry," she whispered as she stroked the back of my head. I felt dad wrap his arms around us from behind. I felt him kiss the top of my head.

"It's ok, Jessie. Let it out," he whispered. "Let it all out, baby."

I did. I couldn't stop crying. After two years of trying to keep everything inside, I was finally letting go of all the pain I'd kept inside.

----------------------------------------------------------

_Sam's POV_

She cried as though her heart was breaking. But, in this case, her heart was healing. She was finally letting go of all the pain that she'd kept bottled up inside for years. We held her tightly, whispering words of love and comfort over and over again.

Jack turned the three of us to where he was sitting on another bed, taking all of our weight on himself. Suddenly, Cassie whispered, "No! Look out!"

She was looking at the observation window. I moved Jessie out of the way, leaving Jack's hands free. An SF went down as Jack fired his zat at something. A figure became visible.

"Mama?"

"It's ok, honey," I said, holding her trembling body close to mine. I sat down on the bed and pulled her beside me as Jack removed the covering from the Goa'uld's face. It was Nirrti.

Jessie was terrified of her. Her eyes were widened with fear and she looked like she was trying to scream, but nothing would come out.

"Jessie?"

"She wants me," she whispered.

"What?"

"Easy. We need her alive," said Jack as two SF's took the unconscious Goa'uld out of the room. He reached out and took Jessie by the hand and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"She wants me as her new host. I sensed it."

"Sam, take Jessie back to our quarters and stay with her," said Jack.

"Dad, don't go," begged Jessie.

"It's ok, honey. I'm just gonna go talk to Grandpa George about this situation," he said, kissing her forehead gently. He pushed her bangs out of her eyes and kissed her again. Then, reluctantly letting go of her hand, he walked out of the infirmary.

I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her from the bed. "Come on, honey. Let's get you something to eat."

She allowed me to take her to our quarters and I got her a _hot pocket_. She ate in silence and then took a bath and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. I was waiting on the bed when she came out looking way too fragile.

She sat down beside me and I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm scared, mama," she whispered. "That _thing _scares me."

"I know baby. But, we're not going to let her take you _or _Cassandra," I said laying my head on top of hers.

We sat that way for a few minutes and then she laid down and put her head in my lap. I gently stroked her hair, lulling her to sleep. About half an hour later, Jack came in looking tired himself. He leaned down and kissed Jessie's cheek, stroking it gently. Then he kissed me softly.

"Well?" I whispered.

"We had to let her go," he said.

"Why?"

"It was the only way she would heal Cassie," he said softly, sitting beside me. He slid his arm around me as I leaned into him, careful not to disturb Jessie. "And Jessie was right."

"About what?"

"Nerdy does want Jessie for her new host."

"Over my dead body," I whispered vehemently.

"That's roughly what I said," he said. "I told her we were letting her go, but if she came back to earth, I _would _kill her."

Jessie opened her eyes and sat up. "Dad?"

"It's ok, Sunshine. She's gone."

"She'll be back," whispered Jessie.

"No. She knows that we would kill her on sight," I said.

"She wants me," said Jessie. "She won't stop until she gets me."

"I'll kill her first," I said.

"No," whispered Jessie. "I don't want anyone dying because of me."

"Jessie. If she tries to take you away from us, she _will _die," said Jack.

"Dad…"

Jack held up his finger. "Ah! I mean it Jessie. I will do whatever it takes to protect you and your mom. I will do _anything_." He stood up and walked around me to Jessie. He wrapped his arms around her and said softly, "I can't lose you, Jessie. After Charlie died, I never thought I'd love another child. I never thought I'd have another chance to love a child. But, then your mom came into my life and I immediately knew she was the one I'd spend the rest of my life with. Then you were born. I can honestly say that was the happiest day of my life."

Jessie laid her head on Jack's shoulder and I picked up the story. "You were so tiny. I swear you could fit in the palm of my hand."

Jack chuckled. "You _did _fit in the palm of my hand." He kissed the top of her head.

"Anyway, you were so early that we were afraid of losing you. But, Thor immediately put you in a stasis pod for a while, making sure everything was perfectly formed. My guess is that's when you were given your powers. But, the first time I held you, I knew then that if anything were to happen to you, I would die. You were this little person, created by me and Jack – dependent on me and Jack. I knew I could never give you up."

"The day they chose to send us back, we fought so hard. But, they'd given us some kind of drug to knock us out. We both fought it, but they ripped you from my arms and forced us into an escape pod." I started crying as I remembered that day. I'd hated the Asgard at that moment. I knew it was all Heimdahl and her/his group, but a part of me blamed them all.

"When we found you again and everything was returned to us, we both swore we would never let you go again," said Jack as he pulled me towards them. I wrapped my arms around Jessie also and snuggled up to my daughter. "Since then, we've come too damned close, too many damned times, to losing you again. I swear to God, I'll kill anyone who tries to take you away from us again."

I knew he meant it. I knew that I would do the same. I couldn't lose her. I couldn't lose my daughter for any reason. If it meant I had to kill someone, so be it.

"By the way, I found out what happened to the two idiots that zatted you last night," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"What?" asked Jessie.

"Well, Pete was thrown through the gate as the wormhole was established." I would've loved to have seen that. Hell, I would've been the one to push him through. That honor went to Daniel and Teal'c.

"And Simmons?"

"Unfortunately, General Hammond stopped SG-3 from doing the same thing to him. He'll be in prison for a very long time."

"He'll get out," said Jessie.

"No, baby. He won't," said Jack, rubbing her back gently.

"Yes, dad. He will. He's part of the memory dream. He's there when mama's taken. Him and a Goa'uld," she said as she started to tremble again. I was seriously considering asking Thor to block that particular power. It was slowly killing her inside.

Jack pulled her onto his lap and began to rock her slowly. When she'd stopped crying and trembling, he laid her down on our bed and lay down behind her. She looked at me with fear and sadness in her eyes. I knew then that one way or another, Simmons was going to die.


End file.
